Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 484,133 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.73% of Applied Materials worth $968,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 178,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $29,070,000 after purchasing an additional 10,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 117,361 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,086,000 after buying an additional 5,124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $155.69. 3,884,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,758,525. The firm has a market cap of $126.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.88.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.86.

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.