Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 14,176 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 275,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,176 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $56,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.6%

AMAT stock opened at $351.28 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $321.39 and its 200 day moving average is $253.00. The company has a market capitalization of $278.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. The company’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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.