Peoples Financial Services CORP. Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,580 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,286 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after acquiring an additional 4,741 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,595,811 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its position in Applied Materials by 1,177.3% during the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 16,911 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 15,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $203.92 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $162.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $176.94 and its 200 day moving average is $167.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.15.

About Applied Materials

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.