Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,487 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 839 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,020,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $134,555,000 after purchasing an additional 54,261 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 8,981 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $315,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $4.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.24. 2,382,340 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,177,505. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $174.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.00 and a 52-week high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.06%.

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.