58,378 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 210,514 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 58,378 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $107,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $408.94 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $473.15 and a 200-day moving average of $487.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.