Flossbach Von Storch AG Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Flossbach Von Storch AG decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 88.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,798 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 153,615 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 333.8% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.2 %

AMAT traded down $4.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $195.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,237,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,129,296. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $162.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.06. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.12 and a 52-week high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.