Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 23,421 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group cut its Applied Materials stake by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,421 shares and leaving it with 121,172 shares worth about $31.14 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: several analysts lifted price targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $465.14.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 121,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 23,421 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.6%

AMAT opened at $406.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $322.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $382.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $465.14.

Applied Materials News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials reported Q1 revenue of $7.91 billion, topping expectations, while non-GAAP EPS of $2.86 also beat estimates. Management’s next-quarter revenue guidance was stronger than analysts expected, pointing to continued AI-driven demand for semiconductor equipment and services. AMAT Q1 Deep Dive: AI Demand Drives Growth in Semiconductor Equipment and Services
• Positive Sentiment: Argus raised its price target on Applied Materials to $500 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside from the AI infrastructure buildout and the company’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment leadership.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted rising earnings estimates and historic gross margin strength, suggesting investors are optimistic that profit growth can continue as premium products and services benefit from strong chip demand. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside for Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials is drawing heavy investor attention and positive discussion around its international revenue trends, but these pieces appear more informational than immediate stock-moving catalysts. Investors Heavily Search Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reportedly downgraded Applied Materials while upgrading Lam Research, which could temper enthusiasm despite the company’s strong fundamentals and may be contributing to pressure on the shares. Lam Research gets an upgrade, Applied Materials cut at Morgan Stanley

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% 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, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials' offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.

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