Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 33,922 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 892,797 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,922 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $144,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after purchasing an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,017,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $813,129,000 after purchasing an additional 130,238 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $687,936,000 after purchasing an additional 230,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,838,268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,068,000 after purchasing an additional 308,579 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $196.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,276,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,995,514. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $111.72 and a 12-month high of $214.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.95. 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 data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change 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 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

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.