EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 23.1%, owning 4,818,904 shares valued at approximately $699 million, making it the firm's 7th largest holding.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Applied Materials during the first quarter, with Ameriprise Financial raising its holdings by 23.6%, now owning shares worth over $1.14 billion.
• Applied Materials reported earnings of $2.48 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and plans to distribute a dividend of $0.46 per share on September 11th, contributing to a yield of 1.2%.

EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,818,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 904,962 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 5.7% of EdgePoint Investment Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. owned about 0.59% of Applied Materials worth $699,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,140,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,995 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,038,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,635 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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 cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $156.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.06. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 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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