Cibc World Market Inc. Sells 97,191 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cibc World Market Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 115,918 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 97,191 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth 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 fourth quarter worth $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Argus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2%

AMAT opened at $502.02 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $510.75. 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 $398.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $407.26 and a 200-day moving average of $341.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.