Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $2.70 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,696,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $319,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 35.3% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 61,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,508,000 after purchasing an additional 16,137 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $792,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,006,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $203,334,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $147.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.