Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 65% in the fourth quarter, ending with 455,077 shares valued at about $116.95 million.
• Applied Materials reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both topping analyst estimates and up 11.4% from a year earlier.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, while several analysts lifted price targets and maintained bullish ratings, leaving the consensus view at Moderate Buy.

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,077 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 179,260 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $116,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th 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 Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th 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. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $432.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $388.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $328.11.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.