Rathbones Group PLC Sells 29,087 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Rathbones Group PLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 104,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 29,087 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,568 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $263,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $348.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $276.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $347.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.81.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.