National Bank of Canada FI Has $176.03 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 142.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,140,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 669,898 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $176,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.18 on Friday, hitting $204.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,818,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The company has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $111.72 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.