Fulton Bank N.A. Sells 2,285 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fulton Bank N.A. reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,018 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,285 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $268.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $213.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $276.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.