UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 4,941 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,941 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 85.4% in 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. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are a few of the latest stories about AMAT:

• 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
• 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
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst valuation views have cooled: one fair-value estimate was trimmed, and B. Riley lowered its price target substantially to $475, although it still sees potential upside from the current level. Margin caution and uncertainty around China demand remain risks. Article: Applied Materials Stock Gets Fair Value Trim As Margin Caution Offsets AI Demand Article: B. Riley Cut Its Applied Materials Target to $475

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued 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. Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $395.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $440.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $445.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

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.