1,793 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Virtus Advisers LLC

Virtus Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 41.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,569 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,793 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

These are some of the AMAT headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue reached a record $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 92% to $4.16; both topped analysts’ estimates. The company also reported higher margins and returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Applied Materials Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said demand is running ahead of supply, but component shortages and customers’ limited clean-room capacity may constrain how quickly equipment deliveries can scale. China is expected to account for less than a quarter of business in 2027, reducing reliance on that market even as export restrictions remain a risk. Applied Materials Says Chip Demand Remains Much Higher Than Supply
• Negative Sentiment: The strong quarter has not overcome weak sector sentiment: multiple analysts lowered price targets, citing valuation or semiconductor-equipment multiple compression, although most maintained Buy or Overweight ratings. A broader chip-stock sell-off and lingering concerns around AI-related trades have also weighed on the reaction. Analysts cut targets despite strong results

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $660.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $590.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 9th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.23.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.7%

Applied Materials stock traded down $10.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $370.50. 11,933,246 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,342,034. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $437.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $446.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.37% and a net margin of 29.29%. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.