BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 435,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 42,619 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.0% of BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned 0.05% of Applied Materials worth $112,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.7%

Shares of AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $510.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $408.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.13.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 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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