Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,664 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,750 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.2%

Applied Materials stock opened at $323.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $256.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $344.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents 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, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

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.