Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 101.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 520,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 262,689 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $84,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 70.9% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 13,234 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.1% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 12,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,928,000 after buying an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 65.8% during the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 13,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 5,524 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,490,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $351,831,000 after acquiring an additional 117,793 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.22. The firm has a market cap of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

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.