Leuthold Group LLC Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,526 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,188 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.3% of Leuthold Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $188.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $155.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $193.72 and a 200 day moving average of $208.40. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials 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.