Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,500 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% during the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 12.7% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,867,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $211.56 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $226.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.31. The company has a market capitalization of $168.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82.

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. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.12.

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.

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