Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Ibex Wealth Advisors

Ibex Wealth Advisors trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 74.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,870 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,092 shares during the period. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its position in Applied Materials by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.7%

Applied Materials stock traded down $10.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $370.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,933,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,342,034. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $294.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.37% and a net margin of 29.29%. The business had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 18.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

These are some of the AMAT headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue reached a record $10.41 billion, up 53% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 92% to $4.16; both topped analysts’ estimates. The company also reported higher margins and returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Applied Materials Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Management said demand is running ahead of supply, but component shortages and customers’ limited clean-room capacity may constrain how quickly equipment deliveries can scale. China is expected to account for less than a quarter of business in 2027, reducing reliance on that market even as export restrictions remain a risk. Applied Materials Says Chip Demand Remains Much Higher Than Supply
• Negative Sentiment: The strong quarter has not overcome weak sector sentiment: multiple analysts lowered price targets, citing valuation or semiconductor-equipment multiple compression, although most maintained Buy or Overweight ratings. A broader chip-stock sell-off and lingering concerns around AI-related trades have also weighed on the reaction. Analysts cut targets despite strong results

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $660.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $700.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore set a $590.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Twenty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.23.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.