Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $23.21 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 90,321 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,531,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.5%

Applied Materials stock opened at $354.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $127.50 and a 52 week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Company 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.