Lountzis Asset Management LLC Sells 800 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lountzis Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 7.3% of Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $290,000. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 25,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 12.5% in the third quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 59,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,966,000 after buying an additional 6,574 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $141.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.05.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.