SCS Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc., buying 1,698 shares valued at approximately $246,000 in the first quarter.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Applied Materials, with JPMorgan Chase raising their price target from $210 to $220 and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.1% scheduled for payment on December 11.

SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $1,772,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 44.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 811,978 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $117,834,000 after buying an additional 248,371 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $449,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 173.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 135,001 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,591,000 after buying an additional 85,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, August 20th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.92.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $167.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $177.79 and a 200-day moving average of $164.72. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 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 analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 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.

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