Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $275,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 47.6% in the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% during the third quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 6,969 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy CG LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.3% during the third quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 32,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $181.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $149.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 0.88%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.