Versor Investments LP Has $860,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 41.2%, now owning 5,923 shares valued at approximately $860,000 after selling 4,153 shares.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Northern Trust Corp and Deutsche Bank AG, have increased their stakes in Applied Materials, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with a current payout ratio of 21.93% and an annualized yield of 1.1%.

Versor Investments LP lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,153 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first 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 during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Daiwa America cut 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $1.3550 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.6050. 4,451,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,419,058. The company has a market cap of $128.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $183.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Applied Materials 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.