Concentric Capital Strategies LP Invests $1.18 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Concentric Capital Strategies LP has made a new investment in Applied Materials, Inc. valued at approximately $1.18 million by acquiring 8,150 shares during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Applied Materials with a consensus price target of $193.88 and 17 analysts rating the stock as a Buy.
• Applied Materials recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.2% and is part of the company's strategy to return value to shareholders.

Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,183,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% in the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of AMAT traded up $4.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,034,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,143,077. The stock has a market cap of $129.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.77. 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 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $180.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 business posted $2.12 EPS. 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. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Seventeen investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.