Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,482 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,100 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.5% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $97,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.7%

AMAT stock opened at $484.19 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $560.64 and its 200 day moving average is $453.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $384.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $675.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.83.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.