Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,973,661 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,401 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 4.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $764,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Chad R boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $510.75. The stock has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $408.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $343.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target 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. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.