Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Lessened by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group trimmed its stake in Applied Materials by 13.9% in Q4 to 31,280 shares (worth about $8.04M), and institutions now own roughly 80.56% of the stock.
• Applied Materials beat Q4 estimates with $2.38 EPS (vs. $2.21 expected) and $7.01B revenue (vs. $6.88B expected), set Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and analysts project about 11.11 EPS for the year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 ($2.12 annual, ~0.5% yield) while multiple brokerages lifted price targets (some up to $450), leaving the consensus rating at a Moderate Buy with an average target near $368.29.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,057 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other 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% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $389.08 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $368.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.51 and a twelve month high of $420.50. The company has a market capitalization of $308.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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