denkapparat Operations GmbH Buys New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $717,000. Applied Materials comprises about 1.1% of denkapparat Operations GmbH's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Applied Materials Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $1.40 on Monday, hitting $143.67. 2,385,745 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,261,126. The company has a market capitalization of $116.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.23 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.