Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,683,635 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 497,839 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.34% of Applied Materials worth $549,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $372.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $319.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95. The company has a market capitalization of $295.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Company 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.