Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Has $32.82 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Anchor Capital Advisors cut its Applied Materials position by 30.5% in the second quarter, selling 19,916 shares and retaining 45,400 shares valued at approximately $32.82 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.56% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 27 Buy ratings, one Strong Buy and five Holds; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $658.45 price target.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 24.8% year over year. However, insiders sold more than 231,000 shares worth approximately $146.1 million over the past 90 days.

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 30.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,400 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 19,916 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $454.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.82 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The stock's 50 day moving average is $528.45 and its 200-day moving average is $462.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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