Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,701 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 4,519 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.08 on Friday, reaching $190.44. 4,756,141 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,118,552. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.79. The firm has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $224.09.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.97%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.