Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Trimmed by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,999 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $432.16 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $448.45. 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 company has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $387.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $326.68.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.14.

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.