Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 224,742 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

01 Jul 2025, 15:30 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 19.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 929,810 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 224,742 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $134,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.24.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.07 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average of $163.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials Profile

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