Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by LaFleur & Godfrey LLC

Key Points

• LaFleur & Godfrey LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, now owning 17,793 shares valued at approximately $3.26 million.
• Institutional investments in Applied Materials are significant, with over 80% of the stock owned by institutional investors; several firms reported increased stakes in the company.
• Applied Materials posted strong earnings with an EPS of $2.48 and projected a quarterly revenue growth of 7.7% year-over-year.

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,140 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $1,085,600,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $882,396,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $10.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $200.52. The stock had a trading volume of 15,468,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,406,143. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $159.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seventeen 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.35.

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.