Cadence Bank Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Cadence Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 1.7% during the first quarter, now owning 111,981 shares valued at approximately $16.25 million.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with a yield of 1.1%, scheduled for payment on September 11th.
• Analyst ratings for Applied Materials remain predominantly positive, with 17 analysts rating it as a Buy and a consensus target price of approximately $193.88.

Cadence Bank boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,981 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.2% of Cadence Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cadence Bank's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.7% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $162.49 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $183.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a market capitalization of $130.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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