Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,203,586 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 20,712 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of California State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Applied Materials worth $870,192,678 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $1,589,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $1,082,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $729,211,000 after buying an additional 28,982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AMAT traded down $5.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $418.82. 2,865,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,024,760. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.58 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $510.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $332.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 96,821 shares of company stock worth $65,944,771 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.

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