Vestcor Inc Has $8.12 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Applied Materials by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,849 more shares and bringing its total position to 31,592 shares worth about $8.12 million.
• Applied Materials has seen significant insider selling, including CFO Brice Hill and insider Prabu G. Raja, who together sold more than 52,000 shares in early June.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, raised its dividend to $0.53 per share, and remains rated a Moderate Buy by analysts with a consensus price target of $470.13.

Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 52.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 10,849 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $510.75. The firm has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $408.94 and a 200-day moving average of $342.31.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

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