DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 785,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,625 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $183,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $151.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% 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.