Horizon Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Horizon Investments reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in Q4, selling 7,729 shares and now holds 82,449 shares valued at about $21.19 million.
• Insider selling: company insiders sold 12,003 shares worth ~$4.48 million in the last quarter, including CFO Brice Hill (5,000 shares) and director Judy Bruner (2,500 shares), leaving insider ownership at 0.30%.
• Operational & shareholder updates: Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, set Q2 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield 0.5%), and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $368.29 target.

Horizon Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,449 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,729 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 78,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $20,130,000 after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,597 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Vantage Point Financial LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 329 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $389.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $368.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.51 and a twelve month high of $420.50. The company has a market capitalization of $308.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Applied Materials Company 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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