DSM Capital Partners LLC Takes $37,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% in 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 during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 795.0% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.94 on Friday, hitting $220.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,795,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,466,837. The business has a 50 day moving average of $206.44 and a 200 day moving average of $181.94. The stock has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.13 and a 12-month high of $225.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.