3,870 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by XML Financial LLC

XML Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,638 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,870 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $374.53 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $455.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.