Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $9.55 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,417 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after acquiring an additional 32,893 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 35,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after buying an additional 689,272 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.0%

Applied Materials stock opened at $259.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $276.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $236.68 and its 200 day moving average is $199.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.