2,484 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,558 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,484 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $457.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.63.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $642.00 to $563.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.