Capital International Inc. CA Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Capital International Inc. CA lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 38,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 19,212 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $510.75. The company has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $408.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $343.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.13.

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.