Flossbach Von Storch SE Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,207,218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 607,140 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.4% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned approximately 0.27% of Applied Materials worth $320,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $198.87. 2,426,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,091,978. 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 has a market capitalization of $159.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $170.07 and its 200 day moving average is $164.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials 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.