Congress Asset Management Co. Acquires Shares of 2,723 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $203.92 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $176.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.33. The stock has a market cap of $162.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.15.

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.