Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Has $1.78 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,652 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $7.39 during trading on Friday, hitting $210.26. The stock had a trading volume of 6,515,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,715,401. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $174.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $229.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.