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

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 88.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,307 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 31,769 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.48.

Insider Activity

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.11. The stock had a trading volume of 15,237,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,961,421. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business's 50-day moving average price is $150.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.70. 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 $126.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd 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 1.19%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.