Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. has raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. by 5.8%, now owning 30,596 shares valued at approximately $4.44 million.
• Applied Materials reported Q2 earnings of $2.48 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.36, with revenue growth of 7.7% year-over-year at $7.30 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized payout of $1.84, representing a yield of 1.2%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,596 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,683 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $162.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,992,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,376,757. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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