LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc.

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC has increased its investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, as reported in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, the institutional investor now owns a total of 17,246 shares in the manufacturing equipment company, following the acquisition of an additional 2,536 shares during the quarter. The value of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's holdings in Applied Materials was approximately $2,805,000 at the conclusion of this reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made adjustments to their investments in Applied Materials. For instance, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings by 14.9% during the second quarter, bringing its total to 11,927 shares valued at $2,815,000, after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares. Similarly, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its position by 7.6%, now holding 3,931 shares worth $928,000. AE Wealth Management LLC significantly lifted its stake by 64.5%, owning 14,177 shares valued at $3,346,000 after acquiring 5,561 shares during the last quarter.

Pacer Advisors Inc. also grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.2%, totaling 137,188 shares worth $32,375,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake by a minimal 0.5%, now owning 410,705 shares valued at $96,923,000 after adding 2,222 shares in the last quarter. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds currently hold about 80.56% of Applied Materials's stock.

Analyst Insights

Applied Materials has attracted attention from various analysts recently. For example, Susquehanna recently lowered its target price from $190.00 to $170.00 and issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein also revised its price target downward from $220.00 to $210.00 while maintaining an "outperform" rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced its target from $220.00 to $200.00, assigning a "hold" rating. Stifel Nicolaus cut its price target from $270.00 to $250.00 and kept a "buy" rating.

Moreover, Mizuho adjusted its pricing objective from $220.00 to $210.00, also maintaining an "outperform" rating. Among analysts, one has given a sell rating, while seven rated it as hold, and fifteen assigned it a buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the consensus rating for Applied Materials is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $218.95.

Market Performance

On Monday, Applied Materials shares opened at $192.05. The company boasts a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31 and a P/E/G ratio of 1.75. The stock has shown a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The shares have fluctuated between a low of $156.78 and a high of $255.89 over the past year. Additionally, the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages stand at $173.10 and $190.95, respectively.

Recent Earnings Report

Applied Materials recently announced its earnings results on November 14th, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.32 for the quarter, surpassing expectations of $2.19 by $0.13. The company also reported revenue of $7.05 billion, modestly exceeding analyst predictions of $6.96 billion. During this period, Applied Materials experienced a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Revenue increased by 4.8% compared to the prior year’s quarter, during which the company reported an EPS of $2.12. Analysts forecast an EPS of 9.37 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

In addition to its earnings report, Applied Materials has declared a quarterly dividend, which will be disbursed on March 13th. Shareholders registered on February 20th will receive a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is also set for February 20th. This translates to an annualized dividend of $1.60, yielding 0.83%. Notably, the current dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Company Overview

Applied Materials, Inc. specializes in providing manufacturing equipment, services, and software tailored for the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company works through three major segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment focuses on developing, manufacturing, and selling various equipment crucial for fabricating semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

investment, shares, business