Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by WCG Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 115.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 22,864 shares and bringing its total to 42,692 shares valued at about $11.0 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on AMAT, with firms including Bank of America, UBS, Wells Fargo, and Wolfe Research raising price targets; the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $470.13.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 on revenue of $7.91 billion, and it also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 115.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,692 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,864 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $404.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $339.58. The company has a market capitalization of $397.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $508.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. 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 19.91%.

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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