Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $246.92 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 961,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 190,098 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $246,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $394.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.32 and a 12 month high of $407.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $362.41 and a 200-day moving average of $298.25. The company has a market capitalization of $312.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.