Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $29.35 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 180,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.