Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 57.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,789 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,909 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.96 during trading on Monday, reaching $176.55. The stock had a trading volume of 6,672,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,987,888. The company has a market capitalization of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $156.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

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.