GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Sells 10,152 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,716 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,152 shares during the quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 5,234 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 55,801 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,340,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 113,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $29,294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $382.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $368.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.33. The company has a market capitalization of $303.63 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.71 and a 12 month high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

About Applied Materials

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.