Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 32.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,295 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after acquiring an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $5.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $188.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,850,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,087,090. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $204.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.68.

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.