Lmcg Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 6.9%, now owning 103,166 shares, valued at approximately $18.89 million.
• Applied Materials received several ratings upgrades, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target from $172 to $209 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with the payment scheduled for December 11th.

Lmcg Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,166 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,653 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 1.2% of Lmcg Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.50.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.7%

AMAT opened at $209.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $182.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.47. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

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.

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