Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,479 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,324 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $230,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $40,428,000 after buying an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.7% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,867,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 311.2% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.92.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $136.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $177.39 and its 200-day moving average is $164.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.