Ieq Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.2%, now holding 88,987 shares, valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.48, exceeding analyst expectations, with a revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 21.93%.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,987 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,590 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Old Port Advisors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $4.51 on Friday, reaching $160.76. The company had a trading volume of 7,198,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,237,243. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $182.15 and its 200 day moving average is $165.36. The company has a market cap of $128.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Applied Materials 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.