B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $37.48 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 185,481 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,476,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $280,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.31. The company had a trading volume of 8,646,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,373. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.