B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 51,570 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,911 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 51,570 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Applied Materials by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 45,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 16,851 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

AMAT opened at $145.06 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $167.33 and a 200-day moving average of $176.84. The company has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.38 and a fifty-two week 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.05%.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.