Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 921,964 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 139,157 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $315,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $516.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $410.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.53, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $546.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The business’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, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.19.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. 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.