Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $14.71 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 86.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 573,334 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 34,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC now owns 16,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hendley & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 31,356 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after buying an additional 9,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $165.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $175.53 and its 200-day moving average is $183.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.