Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Sells 612 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,804 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the third quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 10,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 5.1% in the third quarter. Planning Directions Inc. now owns 2,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.6% in the third quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 14,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

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.