Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,068 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 89,256 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $16,340,000 after purchasing an additional 11,961 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the second quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,605,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Delaney Dennis R purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $383,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 70,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,854,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the second quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 12,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $226.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.50.

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.