Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $106.92 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 653,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 192,227 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $106,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 506,279 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $83,802,000 after purchasing an additional 53,114 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 163,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,597,000 after buying an additional 32,124 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3,670.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 59,491 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,675,000 after acquiring an additional 57,913 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,364,000. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $8,698,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

AMAT stock opened at $149.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average of $179.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.