Allianz SE Acquires Shares of 11,594 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,594 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 16,851 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $145.06 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.12 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $117.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $167.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.