Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Makes New $15.30 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 94,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,303,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.75 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.00 and a 200-day moving average of $189.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.