Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Jain Global LLC

Jain Global LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,965 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 71,712 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $341.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $334.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.17. The stock has a market cap of $271.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.