Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 27.5%, acquiring an additional 3,457 shares, bringing its total holdings to 16,028 shares worth $2.934 million.
• Hedge funds currently own 80.56% of Applied Materials' stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $192.92 for Applied Materials, with ratings showing a mix of buy, hold, and sell recommendations.

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,457 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 10,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,904,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the second quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 15,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,909,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.8% during the second quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $348,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.35.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $10.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $200.52. 15,468,266 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,406,143. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm's fifty day moving average is $176.36 and its 200-day moving average is $165.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.