Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Trimmed by Optimize Financial Inc

Optimize Financial Inc lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,659 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 0.9% of Optimize Financial Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Optimize Financial Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $305.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $318.67 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $344.60. The company has a market cap of $252.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $284.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.