MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,149 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $240.86 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $219.18 and its 200 day moving average is $196.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $249.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.