Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Decreased by Leelyn Smith LLC

Leelyn Smith LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,129 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,471 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.1% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.29.

About Applied Materials

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.