Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Quantbot Technologies LP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 30.7%, selling 9,863 shares and leaving it with 22,232 shares valued at approximately $3.2 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Eagle Capital Management and Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management, have increased their positions in Applied Materials, highlighting strong interest from institutional investors, which own 80.56% of the stock.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.1%, with an expected earnings per share (EPS) guidance for Q4 2025 set between $1.910 and $2.310.

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 30.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 9,863 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seventeen equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded up $2.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,444,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,266,384. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $130.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.