Eastern Bank Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Eastern Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,559 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,410 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $37,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. New Street Research decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8%

AMAT stock traded down $4.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $535.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,777,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,919,031. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.17, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $476.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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