Audent Global Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials by 50.6% during the third quarter, selling 6,675 shares and ending the period with 6,523 shares. This holding accounted for roughly 1.0% of Audent’s overall portfolio and ranked as its 25th largest position. According to the firm’s SEC filing, the remaining stake was valued at $1,336,000 at quarter end.

Several mid-sized asset managers made only modest changes to their AMAT positions in the same period. Sagespring Wealth Partners added 43 shares to reach 8,340 shares (worth $1,707,000), Sunflower Bank increased its stake by 46 shares to 3,287 shares (valued at $673,000), Outlook Wealth Advisors bought 47 shares to bring its total to 1,233 shares ($252,000), Welch Group added 50 shares to hold 1,741 shares ($356,000), and Everpar Advisors acquired 51 shares to reach 3,359 shares ($688,000). Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors now own more than 80% of the company’s shares.

Applied Materials reported third-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $2.17 per share versus consensus estimates of $2.11, driven by a 24.67% net margin and a return on equity of 39.26%. Quarterly revenue came in at $6.80 billion, topping analyst projections of $6.68 billion but down 3.5% year-over-year. The company has guided first-quarter earnings between $1.98 and $2.38 per share, and sell-side analysts forecast full-year EPS of approximately $9.38.

The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.46 per share, payable on March 12 to holders of record as of February 19, implying an annualized payout of $1.84 and a yield near 0.6%. With a payout ratio of 21.2%, management maintains capacity for continued returns alongside ongoing investment in R&D and manufacturing capacity expansion.