Yousif Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,464,000 after acquiring an additional 793,610 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after purchasing an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after purchasing an additional 511,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Applied Materials by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 926,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $128,341,000 after buying an additional 500,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $3.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $193.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,417,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,192,854. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $202.94 and its 200 day moving average is $170.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.