QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 17,254 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10.9%, buying 17,254 shares in Q4 to hold 176,036 shares valued at about $45.24 million.
• Several analysts have raised ratings and price targets (e.g., Erste to "buy," Citigroup to $420, Stifel to $450), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $370.07.
• Company insiders have sold shares recently (Director Judy Bruner 2,500 shares; CFO Brice Hill 5,000 shares), while Applied Materials beat Q4 EPS estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~0.5% yield).

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 176,036 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,254 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $45,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,053,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.07.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of AMAT opened at $391.38 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $368.64 and its 200 day moving average is $307.17. The company has a market capitalization of $310.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.51 and a 12-month high of $420.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 21.70%.

About Applied Materials

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.

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