Guinness Asset Management LTD Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 5.3%, owning 229,266 shares valued at $33.27 million by the end of the 1st quarter.
• Applied Materials reported $2.48 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.36, along with a 7.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Applied Materials, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,266 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 11,588 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 85,768 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,447,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 12,053 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.0% in the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,057 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,475,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $34,455,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 21,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,061,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.92.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.80. 5,167,090 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,142,924. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $177.79 and a 200-day moving average of $164.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The firm has a market cap of $133.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.