Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 356,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,299 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $58,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $175.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.05. The firm has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.