First Merchants Corp Sells 3,400 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 63.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,941 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $292.20 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $298.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. 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 currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

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.