Raymond James & Associates Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 828,677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 16,501 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $170,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,464,000 after buying an additional 793,610 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Applied Materials by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $205.26. 2,786,965 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,081,282. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $111.20 and a one year high of $214.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $203.53 and its 200 day moving average is $172.40.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials 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.