Cantillon Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cantillon Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,983,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 86,690 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 3.2% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $546,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% in the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $226.00 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $180.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.63. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $232.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa America cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.15.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.