Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by Hendley & Co. Inc.

Hendley & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,756 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 2.0% of Hendley & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hendley & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Somerville Kurt F purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $808,000. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 117.7% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 614 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,459 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 67.5% during the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,104,000 after buying an additional 11,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,555.6% during the 2nd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 509 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $211.56 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.31. The stock has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, September 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.12.

About Applied Materials

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.