Flossbach Von Storch SE Has $260.22 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 126.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.0% of Flossbach Von Storch SE's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Flossbach Von Storch SE owned 0.20% of Applied Materials worth $260,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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, November 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.98. The stock had a trading volume of 7,364,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $175.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

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.