Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,719 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,626 shares during the quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $192.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $198.35 and a 200-day moving average of $210.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.