Flossbach Von Storch SE Buys 893,995 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Flossbach Von Storch SE increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 126.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 893,995 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Flossbach Von Storch SE’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned approximately 0.20% of Applied Materials worth $260,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.96 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.05.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.