iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $19.85 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 98,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 43,525 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $173.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.55 and a 200-day moving average of $203.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.