Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $544,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 145.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,094,000. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its position in Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $175.62 and its 200-day moving average is $183.74. The stock has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.