Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.

Key Points

• EdgePoint Investment Group cut its Applied Materials stake by 57.3% in the first quarter, selling 1.31 million shares and retaining 977,762 shares worth approximately $334.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Applied Materials carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $599.19. Recent targets range from $500 to $647.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.86 in earnings per share and $7.91 billion in revenue, up 11.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 0.4% yield.

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 57.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 977,762 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,313,752 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.7% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $334,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $599.19.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $516.89 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $546.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $410.39 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.