Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 18,583 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,024 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,583 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EPG Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,084 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,077,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,744,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 7,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $403.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $320.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $363.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $142.74 and a one year high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.