Choreo LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 161.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,537 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,389,048,000 after purchasing an additional 456,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $687,936,000 after purchasing an additional 230,789 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,529,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $488,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,831,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $458,980,000 after acquiring an additional 351,206 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $198.65 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.72 and a 200-day moving average of $172.81. The firm has a market cap of $165.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.20 and a 1-year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. B. Riley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

About Applied Materials

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.