Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Sold by Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $625.76.

Applied Materials News Roundup

Investors following AMAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are rebounding ahead of Applied Materials’ earnings, with investors watching for signs that AI investment is translating into stronger equipment orders. A broader sector recovery is providing support for AMAT. Article: Applied Materials Rallies Ahead of Earnings as Chip Stocks Rebound
• Positive Sentiment: ETF flows were supportive: funds reportedly bought $317.1 million of AMAT on Monday, though this is a single-day snapshot. Article: ETFs Bought $317.1 Million of Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity points to expectations of a potentially large post-earnings move, signaling heightened uncertainty rather than a clear directional bet. Article: Ahead of Applied Materials Earnings, What Barchart Data Says

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $395.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $440.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $445.52. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $313.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.