Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Plimoth Trust trimmed its stake in Applied Materials by 14.7%, selling 5,088 shares to hold 29,576 shares worth $7.60M, making AMAT its 9th largest position (1.7% of the portfolio).
• Fundamentals: AMAT beat Q1 estimates with $2.38 EPS on $7.01B revenue, issued Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 ($2.12 annualized).
• Investor flows: Several large institutions (Capital Research, UBS, Ameriprise, Coatue, Sanders) materially increased holdings—institutional ownership is 80.56%—while insiders have sold roughly $4.48M of stock in the past 90 days.

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,576 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,088 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.7% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 42.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $396.94 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $132.80 and a one year high of $407.29. The company has a market cap of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $359.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New tools for next‑gen chips: AMAT unveiled the Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD systems aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips — this strengthens its content per chip and positions it to capture AI/HPC node transitions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large customer for fabs: Bloomberg/press reports say Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted AMAT (among others) for equipment quotes — if that project proceeds it could add meaningful new demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: B. Riley raised its price target on AMAT to $485 (Buy), reflecting a multi‑year AI-related outlook upgrade that supports higher valuations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals: peers TSMC and (expected) Lam Research results point to strong AI/HPC and DRAM spending, which is supportive for AMAT as an equipment supplier. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum & coverage: multiple Zacks pieces note heavy investor interest and recent strong short‑term performance (momentum), which can amplify moves but may also lead to volatile reversals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation pressure: relative comparisons (NVDA vs AMAT) and broader peer valuations (ASML/US peers) highlight that investors may prefer higher‑growth alternatives like NVIDIA, which could limit further multiple expansion for AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term softness in revenue: most recent quarter showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline (about -2.1%), so while earnings beat and guidance were constructive, demand remains lumpy and could lead to volatility if orders don’t accelerate.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.29.

About Applied Materials

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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