Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,500 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 101,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shelton Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $211.56 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $226.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.12.

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.