Hancock Whitney Corp Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 3.6%, selling 4,252 shares and holding 113,963 shares valued at $16.54 million as of the recent SEC filing.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Applied Materials, with Runnymede Capital Advisors raising its position by 972.2%, now owning 193 shares worth $28,000.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly earnings of $2.48 per share, surpassing expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $7.30 billion amid an average price target of $193.88 from analysts.

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,963 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,252 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $4.51 on Friday, reaching $162.75. 7,034,707 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,143,077. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $129.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $180.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

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.