Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after buying an additional 672,548 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after buying an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,082,353,000 after buying an additional 84,130 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $155.68 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $173.96 and its 200 day moving average is $181.01. The company has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.55 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.