Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,273 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.1% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $13,026,000. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $2,942,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,336,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $408.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $342.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $510.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.