Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Buys 2,810 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 520.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.9% of Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 333.8% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.0 %

AMAT stock traded up $3.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $193.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,417,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,192,854. The company has a market cap of $160.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

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.