Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Sells 165 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,652 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $182.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.71 and its 200-day moving average is $208.75. The firm has a market cap of $151.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.