denkapparat Operations GmbH Invests $717,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000. Applied Materials accounts for 1.1% of denkapparat Operations GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,497,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $2,696,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 83,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,509,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 17,476 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

AMAT opened at $147.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.37 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.