Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 2,183 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lmcg Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,183 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.2% of Lmcg Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $156.78 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.