Deutsche Bank AG Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 20.7% during the first quarter, owning over 7.1 million shares valued at approximately $1.04 billion.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%, and a payout ratio of 22.38%.
• Despite strong quarterly earnings reporting $2.39 EPS, shares of Applied Materials fell 0.6%, opening at $178.14, with analysts holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,235,097 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.88% of Applied Materials worth $1,043,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.87. 4,338,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,090,117. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $181.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.81. 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 one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.