Hartford Financial Management Inc. Sells 1,647 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Hartford Financial Management Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 4.6%, selling 1,647 shares, and currently holds 34,167 shares worth approximately $6.26 million.
• Applied Materials recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%, to be paid on December 11th.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Applied Materials, with an average price target of $209.15, reflecting varied outlooks from different research firms.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,647 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.7% of Hartford Financial Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Hartford Financial Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.1% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.7% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $410,000. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $755,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $209.15.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $228.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.29. The stock has a market cap of $182.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $232.07. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.

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