Banque Pictet & Cie SA Buys 4,599 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $184.27 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.85. The stock has a market cap of $149.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.00.

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.