Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP reduced its Applied Materials stake by 18.8% in the third quarter, selling 27,519 shares and retaining 119,052 shares valued at approximately $60.9 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.20; institutional investors own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly revenue of $9.12 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.50 per share, both exceeding expectations. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 0.4% yield.

Artemis Investment Management LLP cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,052 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 27,519 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $60,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $740.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $640.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $12.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $508.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,495,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,867,614. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $403.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.85, a PEG ratio of 1.48 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $488.74 and a 200 day moving average of $480.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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