Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,367 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $230.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $183.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $209.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.31.

Applied Materials Company 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.