Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.58 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 32.3%, owning a total of 10,889 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The company's stock has seen significant activity from other institutional investors, with hedge fund holdings now comprising 80.56% of Applied Materials' shares.
• Applied Materials recently reported earnings of $2.48 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, marking a 7.7% year-over-year increase.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 32.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,661 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,119.9% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 42,257 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $6,872,000 after acquiring an additional 38,793 shares during the period. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Trust Company LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,990,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Daiwa America cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Seventeen 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $6.79 on Thursday, hitting $170.21. 6,806,189 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,372,084. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.69. The company has a market cap of $135.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.