DAVENPORT & Co LLC Purchases 15,514 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 46.9%, acquiring an additional 15,514 shares, bringing its total holdings to 48,592 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million.
• Applied Materials has experienced significant interest from institutional investors, with 80.56% of its stock currently owned by them, reflecting a trend of increasing institutional investment in the company.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Applied Materials, with price targets varying from $170.00 to $225.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" alongside an average target price of $195.12.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 46.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,514 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Daiwa America lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $223.91 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $178.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 21.93%.

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.

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