Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Caisse Des Depots et Consignations increased its stake in Applied Materials by 25.3% in Q4, buying 3,249 shares to hold 16,074 shares worth about $4.13 million.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B), set Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12).
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., Citigroup to $420, Barclays to $450, Cantor Fitzgerald to $470), and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $368.29 consensus price target (27 Buys, 7 Holds).

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $389.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $368.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.51 and a 52 week high of $420.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Applied Materials Company 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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