Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Jain Global LLC

Jain Global LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,965 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 71,712 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $341.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $334.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $263.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.