LSV Asset Management Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 20.7% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.08 million shares valued at around $156.2 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Runnymede Capital Advisors and Smallwood Wealth Investment Management, have recently increased their investments in Applied Materials, pushing institutional ownership to 80.56%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Applied Materials, with 17 buy ratings and a consensus target price of $205.17, while Rothschild & Co downgraded the stock to a "neutral" rating.

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,076,526 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 281,242 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.13% of Applied Materials worth $156,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $205.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0%

Applied Materials stock opened at $179.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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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