GTS Securities LLC Sells 38,281 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

23 May 2025, 12:22 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

GTS Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 38,281 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rheos Capital Works Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,055,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 31,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,107,000 after buying an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.48.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $160.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Applied Materials

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