Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 63.8% during the first quarter, bringing the total value of its investment to $847,000.
• Applied Materials reported $2.48 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $7.30 billion, up 7.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, which represents a 1.1% dividend yield and will be paid on September 11th to investors of record.

Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 63.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,834 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 91.5% during the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0%

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $163.42. 5,667,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,367,873. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $179.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.