DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,030 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 25,712 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.10% of Applied Materials worth $111,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $195.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,620,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,087,961. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $169.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.35. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.