Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 514,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 254,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.1% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $132,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,160,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,911 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $394.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $362.41 and a 200 day moving average of $298.25. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.32 and a 52 week high of $407.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.