Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Formidable Asset Management LLC

Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $348.47 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $395.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $346.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.