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

Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 145.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing 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 have also modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.57 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $158.96 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $175.62 and a 200-day moving average of $183.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $137.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

About Applied Materials

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.