Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Maverick Capital Ltd.

Key Points

• Maverick Capital reduced its Applied Materials stake by 23.1%, selling 261,333 shares and retaining 869,943 shares valued at approximately $297.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $599.19. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $740 and $790.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly revenue of $7.91 billion and EPS of $2.86, exceeding analyst expectations, while insiders sold roughly $169.7 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Maverick Capital Ltd. trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 869,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 261,333 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 3.4% of Maverick Capital Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Maverick Capital Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $297,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $599.19.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $516.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $546.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.39 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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