Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,494,928 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,923 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.54% of Applied Materials worth $728,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.32. The stock had a trading volume of 3,200,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,937,529. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $204.09 and its 200 day moving average is $175.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $112.86 and a twelve month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.