Bill Few Associates Inc. Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,122 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 27.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,571 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 8.1% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 42.3% in the first quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 10.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 226,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,935,000 after purchasing an additional 21,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $182.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.79. The company has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $226.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results 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 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 company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.50.

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.