Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 190,098 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in Applied Materials by 16.5%, selling 190,098 shares in Q4 and now holds 961,216 shares worth about $246.9 million (≈0.12% of the company).
• Insider selling increased: CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares and director Judy Bruner sold 2,500, contributing to 12,003 insider shares sold in the quarter (≈$4.48 million); insiders now own about 0.30% of AMAT.
• Analysts lifted price targets (examples: KeyCorp to $450, B. Riley to $485) and the stock has a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with a $368.29 price target.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 961,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 190,098 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $246,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $394.33 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $362.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.25. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $136.32 and a 52-week high of $407.29. The firm has a market cap of $312.94 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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.

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