Principal Securities Inc. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,931 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $577,288,000 after buying an additional 2,209,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $942,187,000 after buying an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 87.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,877,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $379,275,000 after buying an additional 877,133 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.98 on Thursday, hitting $176.04. 6,686,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,702,766. The business's fifty day moving average is $175.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.