Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,852 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,372 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 5.5% of First Community Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 18,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,108 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $226,000. Retireful LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $893,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 437,234 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $107,714,000 after buying an additional 31,869 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.5%

AMAT stock opened at $353.80 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $280.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

About Applied Materials

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.