932,361 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Sanders Capital LLC

Sanders Capital LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,162,011 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 932,361 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.6% of Sanders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sanders Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,639,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,631,000 after acquiring an additional 19,886 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,211,000 after acquiring an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after acquiring an additional 105,776 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus set a $600.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, New Street Research dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.2%

Applied Materials stock traded up $13.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $332.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,456,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,369,214. The stock has a market cap of $264.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $444.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
• Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.

The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.