Amundi Has $1.17 Billion Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,609,399 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 440,076 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,169,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.18. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.