Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 8,931 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,931 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,507 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $991,000. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 4,436 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 115,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,735,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $302,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $169.20 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $175.36 and a 200 day moving average of $184.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.10.

About Applied Materials

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.