Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 94.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 135,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,304,144 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $34,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
- Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
- Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
- Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
View Our Latest Research Report on AMAT
Applied Materials Price Performance
AMAT opened at $617.11 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $638.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $489.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $451.05 and a 200-day moving average of $364.90.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.
Insider Activity
In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
About Applied Materials
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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