Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 921 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 23.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,970 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $844,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $906,134,000 after buying an additional 59,910 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $337,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $188.59 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.55. The company has a market capitalization of $156.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.