Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys Shares of 94,098 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 94,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,303,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,006 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after acquiring an additional 4,267 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 9,801 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 5,163 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 67,341 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,952,000 after purchasing an additional 7,352 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $174.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

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.