Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 211,055 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 170.6% during the first quarter, owning 334,798 shares worth approximately $48.57 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Applied Materials, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88, while some have adjusted their price targets downward.
• The CAO of Applied Materials sold 562 shares for about $100,373, decreasing their position by 9.59%, as part of recent insider trading activities.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 170.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 334,798 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 211,055 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,995 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $192.92.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.80. The company had a trading volume of 5,167,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,142,924. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $177.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.