Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC Makes New $290,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC has invested approximately $290,000 in Applied Materials, purchasing 2,000 shares.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake in Applied Materials, with 80.56% of the company's stock owned by such entities.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected earnings with $2.48 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.36.

Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew 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 buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $192.92.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.80. 5,167,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,142,924. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $177.79 and a 200-day moving average of $164.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions 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 value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.