Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 2.2%, selling 66,281 shares and now holding 2,900,060 shares valued at approximately $420.8 million.
• Brokerage reports reflect a trend of lowering target prices for Applied Materials, with UBS, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Stifel Nicolaus all adjusting their ratings and expectations for the stock.
• Applied Materials has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing a yield of 1.1%, with a planned payment date of September 11th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,900,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 66,281 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.36% of Applied Materials worth $420,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Applied Materials by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,043,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,097 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,993,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $724,609,000 after purchasing an additional 280,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $701,064,000 after acquiring an additional 25,878 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.84.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.2150 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $162.3150. The stock had a trading volume of 5,306,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,403,541. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $130.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. The business's fifty day moving average price is $184.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.42. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.