Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,013,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,994 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $147,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 10.9% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 34,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.2% during the first quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 61,414 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,912,000 after buying an additional 3,595 shares during the period. PFG Advisors increased its position in Applied Materials by 99.3% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 3,570 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, William Allan Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 50,659 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,352,000 after buying an additional 2,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $188.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,414,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,314,784. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70. The company has a market capitalization of $150.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.