14,000 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Twin Peaks Capital Ltd

Twin Peaks Capital Ltd lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 82.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.9% of Twin Peaks Capital Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Twin Peaks Capital Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,512,287,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.01.

Key Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
• Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
• Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $13.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $332.71. 9,456,460 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,369,214. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $444.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $444.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $264.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.