LSV Asset Management Sells 609,890 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LSV Asset Management lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 36.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,056,616 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 609,890 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $271,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $432.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $387.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $326.06. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.14.

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.