Criteria Caixa S.A.U. Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Criteria Caixa S.A.U. has acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc., purchasing 45,729 shares valued at approximately $8.37 million, making it the firm's 16th largest holding.
• Various hedge funds increased their stakes in Applied Materials during the first quarter, with notable boosts from Ameriprise Financial and Price T Rowe Associates.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Applied Materials, with B. Riley increasing the price target to $265 while other analysts have set lower targets, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Criteria Caixa S.A.U. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 45,729 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,372,000. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.9% of Criteria Caixa S.A.U.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 23.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after buying an additional 1,502,995 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 15.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,038,504,000 after buying an additional 1,046,635 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 20.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after buying an additional 1,235,097 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 43.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $808,853,000 after buying an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Daiwa America cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.50.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $209.95 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.62. The stock has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $226.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

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.

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