Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 88,987 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,590 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $1,085,600,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $808,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502,995 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $164.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.47 and a 200 day moving average of $165.75. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials 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.