Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 200,830 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 188,868 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $453.01 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 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 50-day simple moving average of $408.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $343.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. 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.