Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Lessened by Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 57,992 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $88,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% in the third 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% in the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.76.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 11.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $370.55 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The firm has a market cap of $294.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $443.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $444.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor equipment stocks rallied broadly, with Applied Materials among the leaders, as investors rotated back into chip-related names after the sector’s recent sell-off. Applied Materials Jumps Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking to continued AI-related chip-equipment demand, advanced packaging growth and rising memory investment to support AMAT’s outlook in its upcoming quarterly report. Analysts remain broadly optimistic, and B. Riley maintained a Buy rating despite lowering its price target. AMAT to Post Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The rally comes ahead of a closely watched earnings report, which could set the direction for the shares. The company’s outlook will be important in gauging whether demand can sustain the recent recovery. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include supply concerns ahead of earnings and valuation: one analysis argues the stock may be above fair value after its substantial longer-term advance. Any cautious guidance or signs of weaker demand could undermine the rebound. Applied Materials Stock Looks Above Fair Value

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.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.