Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Lowered by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI trimmed its Applied Materials position by 2.8% in Q4, selling 5,230 shares and leaving 182,823 shares worth about $46.98 million; the holding is 3.1% of the fund and its 5th largest position.
• Q4 results beat: Applied Materials reported $2.38 EPS (vs. $2.21 expected) and $7.01 billion in revenue (vs. $6.88 billion expected), though revenue fell 2.1% year-over-year, and management set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (from $0.46), payable June 11 with an ex-dividend date of May 21, implying a roughly 0.5% yield.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,230 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 3.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $395.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $353.21 and a 200 day moving average of $290.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.80 and a 52-week high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

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.

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