Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Reduced by Bank OZK

Bank OZK cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,084 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 2.1% of Bank OZK’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bank OZK’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings 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 valued at $128,341,000 after buying an additional 500,900 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT stock traded up $5.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.38. 3,933,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.15 and a 12 month high of $214.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.56. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.