Sciencast Management LP Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP increased its stake in Applied Materials by 600.6% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $3.63 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Stance Capital LLC and Talon Private Wealth LLC, also significantly increased their holdings, reflecting strong institutional interest in Applied Materials.
• Applied Materials recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, which will be paid to shareholders on September 11th, representing an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Sciencast Management LP raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 600.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,983 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,417 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 311.2% in the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $163.42. 5,687,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,378,733. The company has a 50 day moving average of $179.20 and a 200 day moving average of $164.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) 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 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The company'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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.