Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 8,522 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. has reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 32.6%, now owning 17,630 shares valued at approximately $3.23 million after selling 8,522 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Waverly Advisors LLC, have increased their positions in Applied Materials, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• Applied Materials recently reported a 7.7% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting its solid financial performance.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 32.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 8,522 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,995 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Applied Materials by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,038,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,635 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Applied Materials by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,097 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $808,853,000 after buying an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.35.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $10.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $200.52. 15,468,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,526,588. The company has a market cap of $159.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.30 and a 200 day moving average of $165.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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