Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Cut by Harbor Island Capital LLC

Harbor Island Capital LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 129,527 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,103 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 12.8% of Harbor Island Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third 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 purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in 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 last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $395.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.80 and a 1-year high of $407.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $353.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

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.