Columbus Macro LLC Makes New $241,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Columbus Macro LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,318 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Shelton Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $220.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $175.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

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.