MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 3.3% during the first quarter, ending up owning 243,670 shares valued at approximately $35.36 million.
• Institutional interest in Applied Materials remains strong as other firms like Runnymede Capital Advisors and Clal Insurance significantly increased their stakes during the same period, with institutional investors holding around 80.56% of the stock.
• Applied Materials recently reported earnings of $2.48 per share, surpassing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, yielding about 1.1% annually.

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,670 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 8,380 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $35,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $162.49 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $183.13 and a 200 day moving average of $166.01. The company has a market cap of $130.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share 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 41.31%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business'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, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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