Trek Financial LLC Sells 9,275 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Trek Financial LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,436 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,275 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 worth $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,512,287,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second 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 last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $374.53 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $455.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.98. The firm has a market cap of $297.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.