Churchill Financial Advisors LLC Invests $6.12 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Churchill Financial Advisors LLC opened a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter, buying 23,810 shares worth about $6.12 million. The stake makes up roughly 1.9% of the firm’s holdings.
• Analysts have turned increasingly bullish on AMAT, with several firms raising price targets and issuing buy or overweight ratings. The stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $465.14.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $2.86 EPS on $7.91 billion in revenue, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Churchill Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 23,810 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,119,000. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.9% of Churchill Financial Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $465.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $432.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $387.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.68.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials' offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.

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