ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Sells 4,533 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• ABN AMRO Bank N.V. trimmed its Applied Materials position by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,533 shares and ending with 84,739 shares valued at about $21.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: several firms raised ratings or price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $375.90.
• Applied Materials also reported solid fundamentals, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,533 shares during the period. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $375.90.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $500 price target, calling Applied Materials a key beneficiary of AI semiconductor spending. Seaport Research Initiates Coverage of Applied Materials (AMAT) with Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group raised FY2027 earnings estimates, reinforcing expectations for long-term earnings growth. BofA Remains Bullish on Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary suggests Applied Materials could post an earnings beat in its upcoming report, which is keeping sentiment constructive. Applied Materials (AMAT) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note the stock had fallen more than the broader market in the prior session, but those moves appear secondary to the stronger analyst-driven optimism. Here's Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Fell More Than Broader Market

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $435.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $345.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $371.10 and a 200-day moving average of $311.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $438.04.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.