Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 4,519 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,701 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,519 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $194.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $233.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.