Hills Bank & Trust Co Has $128,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hills Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 699 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.4% in the second quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 18,189 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,330,000 after buying an additional 4,244 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 46.1% in the second quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 834 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 58.1% in the second quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,711 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $379,000. Finally, Rede Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the second quarter. Rede Wealth LLC now owns 7,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $233.10 on Friday. 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 moving average of $198.20 and a 200-day moving average of $180.88. The company has a market cap of $185.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.96.

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.