Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 40,616 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 318,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 40,616 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $65,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 68.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $284.32 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $287.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $225.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $248.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.43.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.