Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Boosted by Central Pacific Bank Trust Division

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its Applied Materials stake by 121.9% to 7,172 shares, while institutional investors overall own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts remain bullish: Applied Materials has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $640.20 average price target, with several firms recently raising their targets.
• Strong operating results: Quarterly earnings of $3.50 per share and revenue of $9.12 billion exceeded estimates, while revenue rose 24.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 121.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $640.20.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $542.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $430.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $485.98 and a 200 day moving average of $478.15.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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