Probity Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Probity Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Probity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $228.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $181.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $232.07.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.15.

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.