Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 22.3% during the first quarter, owning 349,841 shares valued at approximately $50.77 million after selling 100,463 shares.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly revenue of $7.30 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, and the company has set its Q4 2025 guidance at $1.910-2.310 EPS.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1%, payable on September 11th to stockholders of record.

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 349,841 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 100,463 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its position in Applied Materials by 12.7% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $162.22 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $183.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.39. The firm has a market cap of $130.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down 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, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.84.

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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