Candriam S.C.A. Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 36.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 179,467 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 102,015 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $36,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.15.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $330.57 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $289.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $344.60.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.