River Global Investors LLP Has $3.43 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

River Global Investors LLP decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,898 shares during the period. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $204.09. 3,818,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.72 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.57. The company has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. B. Riley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Company 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.