Erste Asset Management GmbH Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 200,830 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 188,868 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.13.

Insider Activity

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

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

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.