Cantillon Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 2.8% in Q2, now holding approximately 2.98 million shares valued at $546 million.
• Applied Materials reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.48 for its last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue reaching $7.30 billion and a net margin of 23.88%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.8%, set to be paid on December 11th.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,983,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 86,690 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 3.2% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.37% of Applied Materials worth $546,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AMAT opened at $226.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $232.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Daiwa America cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.15.

About Applied Materials

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.