Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys 157 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,153 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.0%

AMAT stock opened at $188.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.