Rathbones Group PLC Has $26.75 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 29,087 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $348.47 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 twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $347.12 and a 200-day moving average of $282.81.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.