Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Lowered by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC sharply reduced its Applied Materials stake by 90.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 674,260 shares and leaving it with 67,326 shares valued at about $17.3 million.
• Despite that sale, Applied Materials remains heavily owned by institutions, with about 80.56% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors; several large firms, including Vanguard and Capital Research Global Investors, increased their positions.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: multiple analysts raised price targets, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $489.16, while the company also posted strong quarterly results and upbeat guidance.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 90.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,326 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 674,260 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $489.16.

More Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure spending and memory-chip equipment demand should keep driving revenue growth. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ, a fully integrated visual system for AI smart glasses, and partnered with EssilorLuxottica and Qualcomm, giving investors a potential new long-term growth avenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Applied Materials as a beneficiary of the AI equipment super-cycle, with strong earnings, robust wafer-fab equipment demand, and favorable analyst sentiment supporting the rally. Applied Materials: The Cheapest Seat On The AI Equipment Super-Cycle

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $446.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $363.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $638.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $489.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.94, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Applied Materials

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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