Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Sound Shore Management Inc. CT

Key Points

• Sound Shore Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 118,650 shares and leaving it with 280,589 shares worth about $72.1 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on AMAT, with recent price-target hikes from firms like KeyCorp, Mizuho, and Barclays; the stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $470.13.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, while also issuing upbeat Q3 2026 guidance.

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,589 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 118,650 shares during the quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $72,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $397.59 billion, a PE ratio of 47.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $508.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate 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.

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