Silvant Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Silvant Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 4.2%, now holding approximately $24.97 million worth of shares.
• Institutional investors own over 80% of Applied Materials' stock, with significant increases reported from several firms during the first quarter.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Applied Materials, with a consensus average target of $193.88 and a current rating of "Moderate Buy."

Silvant Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,067 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,574 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.1% of Silvant Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Silvant Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth 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. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych grew its stake in Applied Materials by 12.7% during the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,867,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% during the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,876,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $4.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.76. The stock had a trading volume of 7,198,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,237,243. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year 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. The firm has a market cap of $128.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.70.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.