Vest Financial LLC Has $47.89 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 261,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,127 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $226.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

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.