Pflug Koory LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pflug Koory LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,982 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.9% of Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after purchasing an additional 164,085 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after buying an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target 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. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $186.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $151.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 1.99 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $173.64 and a 200 day moving average of $189.92.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.