Trivest Advisors Ltd Invests $12.34 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Trivest Advisors Ltd initiated a new position in Applied Materials in Q4, buying 48,000 shares valued at about $12.34 million. The stake represents roughly 0.6% of Trivest’s portfolio and its 18th-largest holding.
• Applied Materials also saw notable insider selling, including a 50,000-share sale by insider Prabu G. Raja worth about $25.26 million. Insiders sold a total of 53,896 shares over the last quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $470.13. The company also reported earnings and revenue that beat estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 48,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,336,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.6% of Trivest Advisors Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.7%

Shares of AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $510.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $408.94 and its 200-day moving average is $342.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.