Groupama Asset Managment Buys 1,656 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,878 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8%

AMAT stock opened at $252.03 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $252.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $224.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.43.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.04.

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.