TD Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,215,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 280,056 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $312,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $397.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $508.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $404.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.