Flossbach Von Storch SE Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,207,218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 607,140 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.4% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned about 0.27% of Applied Materials worth $320,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $197.93. The stock had a trading volume of 4,423,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,103,532. The firm has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $171.06 and its 200 day moving average is $164.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.65.

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.