Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,679 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $348.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $347.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.07. The company has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

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.