LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 827 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 827 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $1,085,600,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $882,396,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 23.6% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $217.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.50 and a 200 day moving average of $169.31. The stock has a market cap of $173.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $226.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.12.

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.