Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services raised its stake in Applied Materials by 36.1% in Q4 to 17,968 shares valued at about $4.62 million, while institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company and several large funds (Capital Research, Ameriprise, Sanders, VanEck, UBS AM) materially boosted positions.
• Applied Materials beat Q1 estimates with $2.38 EPS (vs. $2.21 expected) and $7.01 billion in revenue, set Q2 guidance of 2.44–2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12; yield ~0.5%; ex-dividend May 21).
• Insiders have sold shares recently (about 12,003 shares worth ~$4.48M over 90 days; insiders own 0.30%), while analysts remain largely positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and several firms raising price targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley $432, UBS $430).

Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,160,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AMAT opened at $395.64 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $354.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.92. The stock has a market cap of $313.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.80 and a 12 month high of $407.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials 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.

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