Sit Investment Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,274 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,210 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $552.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $422.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $351.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $438.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $557.62.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.03.

Key Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

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.