Whittier Trust Co. Decreases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Whittier Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 330,861 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.7% of Whittier Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $60,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.8% during the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $228.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $187.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $232.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.15.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.