Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 8.7%, owning a total of 374,017 shares worth approximately $54 million.
• Applied Materials reported earnings of $2.48 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and indicating a 7.7% revenue increase compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.1% with a payout ratio of 21.93%.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 374,017 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,954 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.9% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $54,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 4,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,328 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $2.7020 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.5180. The stock had a trading volume of 3,762,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,401,710. The company has a market cap of $128.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.39. 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 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm 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 41.31% 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 business posted $2.12 EPS. 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 Dividend Announcement

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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Applied Materials Company 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.