Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $560.48 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,446,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 515,145 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.42% of Applied Materials worth $560,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $5,497,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,696,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 83,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,509,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 17,476 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna raised their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $147.68 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $168.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.