TD Asset Management Inc Sells 280,056 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

TD Asset Management Inc cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,215,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 280,056 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.15% of Applied Materials worth $312,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $404.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $508.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $397.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

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.