Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 12.9%, selling 1,634 shares and leaving them with 11,018 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Institutional investors own 80.56% of Applied Materials stock, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Ameriprise Financial and Price T Rowe Associates during the first quarter.
• Applied Materials reported $2.48 EPS for its latest quarter, beating estimates, and has set a Q4 2025 EPS guidance in the range of 1.910-2.310.

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,018 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,634 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,995 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,038,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,635 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $162.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $129.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Redburn Atlantic cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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