Intermede Investment Partners Ltd Sells 91,991 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Intermede Investment Partners cut its Applied Materials stake by 26.6% in Q4, selling 91,991 shares and leaving it with 254,050 shares valued at about $65.3 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $7.91 billion topping expectations; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.
• Analysts remain bullish on AMAT, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus view still at a Moderate Buy, while institutional ownership remains high at 80.56%.

Intermede Investment Partners Ltd lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 91,991 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.7% of Intermede Investment Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Intermede Investment Partners Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $65,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $432.16 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $448.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $387.09 and its 200 day moving average is $326.68. The stock has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

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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