Caitlin John LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Caitlin John LLC has cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 48.2% during the first quarter, reducing its ownership to 7,633 shares valued at approximately $1,108,000.
• Despite Caitlin John LLC's reduction, other hedge funds such as Northern Trust Corp and Ameriprise Financial Inc. have increased their stakes, indicating shifting investor interest in Applied Materials.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly earnings, with an earnings per share of $2.48, exceeding expectations, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46.

Caitlin John LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 48.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,633 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,103 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.1% of Caitlin John LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Caitlin John LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,502,995 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 20.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after buying an additional 1,235,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,691,428 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $162.49 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $183.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.12. 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 company has a market cap of $130.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.

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