Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Sells 612 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 612 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 14,154 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,389 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.3% in the second quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 25,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,657,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $162.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.68 and a 1 year high of $164.21. The company has a market cap of $134.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $146.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.01.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.14. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 46.12% and a net margin of 25.85%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.51 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, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.21.

Check Out Our Latest Report on AMAT

About Applied Materials

(Free Report)

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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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