South Dakota Investment Council Has $22.74 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

by · The Cerbat Gem

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 7.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,697 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $22,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $372.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $319.57 and its 200-day moving average is $251.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $295.37 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given 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 payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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