Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $3.37 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,783 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 4,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 48,529 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 399,108 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $64,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 19,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,107,000 after buying an additional 2,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $369,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $222.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,894,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,772,039. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.65 and a 200-day moving average of $180.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.18 and a 12-month high of $225.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.64.

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.