Capital World Investors Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Capital World Investors lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,772,397 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 947,107 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 0.35% of Applied Materials worth $712,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $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 during the fourth quarter worth $1,531,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Chad R increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $453.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $510.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.94 and its 200 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid 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 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

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.