Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Has $700,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,307 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 31,769 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $165.57 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $149.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.35. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials Company 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.

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