LifePlan Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LifePlan Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,126 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 756.1% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 511,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $83,120,000 after purchasing an additional 451,400 shares during the period. Finally, Triglav Skladi D.O.O. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.93 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.39 and a 200-day moving average of $164.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Summit Insights lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.92.

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.