Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.7% of Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 24.9% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 3,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 139.0% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $241,673,000 after buying an additional 595,594 shares during the period. KP Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $2,360,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% in the 2nd quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 9,805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,314,000 after buying an additional 5,592 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $201.15 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market cap of $166.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $194.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.