Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Cantillon Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management increased its Applied Materials stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 22,401 shares to bring its total to 2,973,661 shares worth about $764.2 million.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on AMAT, with 27 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings; the consensus target price is $470.13, while several firms recently raised their price targets to as high as $550.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,973,661 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 22,401 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 4.1% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Applied Materials worth $764,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $408.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $510.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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