Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,372,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 164,948 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,637,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its position in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $432.16 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $387.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $326.68. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.47 and a twelve month high of $448.45. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $465.14.

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.