Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $7.23 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,439 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.75 and a 200-day moving average of $206.68. The firm has a market cap of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.