Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,312 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.3% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $325.24 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $331.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $360.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Mizuho set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.89.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.