Foster & Motley Inc. Lowers Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. has reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 7.3%, selling 1,201 shares, leaving them with 15,183 shares worth approximately $2.78 million.
• Applied Materials reported $2.48 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.7% to $7.30 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, scheduled for payment on December 11, with a current dividend yield of 0.8%.

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,201 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,085,600,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $882,396,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $445,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944,193 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Applied Materials by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $808,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,140,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,995 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $224.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $232.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.82. 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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.08.

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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