Norris Perne & French LLP MI Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Norris Perne & French LLP MI trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 182,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,230 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 3.1% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 870.6% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

AMAT opened at $395.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $314.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.64. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $353.21 and a 200-day moving average of $290.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.80 and a 52 week high of $407.29.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.29.

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.