Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Avity Investment Management Inc. has increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.1%, owning 220,835 shares worth approximately $40.4 million, making it the firm's 14th largest holding.
• Applied Materials reported earnings per share of $2.48 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and set a Q4 2025 guidance of $1.910-2.310 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with recent price target adjustments resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $192.92 for the stock.

Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 8,680 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 3.0% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $40,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Old Port Advisors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $192.92.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $167.80 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $177.79 and a 200-day moving average of $164.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.

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