IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 1,532 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0%, now owning 158,571 shares valued at approximately $23 million after selling 1,532 shares.
• Recent analysts' reports show a decrease in price targets for Applied Materials, with Wolfe Research lowering it from $230 to $200 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Applied Materials reported earnings per share of $2.48 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 7.7% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,571 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,532 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.92.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.80. 5,167,090 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,142,924. 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 capitalization of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.79 and a 200 day moving average of $164.72. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm'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 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Applied Materials 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.