Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 262,498 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 16,352 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $67,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Godsey & Gibb Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $413.57 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $448.45. The stock has a market cap of $328.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $380.43 and a 200-day moving average of $321.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $463.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.