Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 5,057 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,057 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position 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 valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $389.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $308.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $368.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.51 and a 52 week high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.