Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 6,475 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its Applied Materials stake by 10.6% in the third quarter, selling 6,475 shares and retaining 54,658 shares valued at approximately $28.0 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 30 Buy ratings and nine Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $632.70.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, while reporting 24.8% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annual yield.

Lmcg Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,658 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,475 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.5% of Lmcg Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $1,589,000. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $729,211,000 after acquiring an additional 28,982 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $632.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $408.94 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $473.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company's offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

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