MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Has $3.39 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 271.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,133 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $190.70 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $173.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.91. The firm has a market cap of $155.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.