Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.7% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,571 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 226,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,935,000 after acquiring an additional 21,974 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.79. The company has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $226.49.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, September 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.50.

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.