Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 101.4% during the first quarter, accumulating a holding worth $5.8 million.
• Applied Materials recently reported earnings of $2.48 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a 7.7% increase in revenue compared to the prior year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 21.93%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 101.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 20,150 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Old Port Advisors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $4.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.76. The stock had a trading volume of 7,198,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,237,243. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $128.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter last 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.