Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 97.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,533 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after buying an additional 1,073,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.01.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Applied Materials Stock Up 4.2%
AMAT opened at $332.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $444.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $444.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $264.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.67.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: A rally in chip-equipment shares is lifting AMAT ahead of its fiscal fourth-quarter results, scheduled for November 12. The sector move followed Lam Research’s announcement of a $25 billion share buyback. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Rise as Chip Equipment Rallies Ahead of Earnings
- Positive Sentiment: AI-related equipment demand and growth in advanced packaging are cited as longer-term supports for Applied Materials, despite the recent pullback in chip stocks. Article: AMAT Shares Plunge 30% in a Month: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?
- Neutral Sentiment: The upcoming results are a key near-term catalyst: investors will assess whether demand and equipment-spending expectations hold up in a more cautious investment environment. Article: Applied Materials Stocks Fall Before a Revenue Test
- Negative Sentiment: The rebound follows a sharp chip-stock sell-off, with investors worried that data-center spending could slow; weak Qualcomm guidance added to sector concerns. AMAT also recently faced pressure after an analyst downgrade. Article: Chip Stock Rout Deepens Article: Applied Materials Stock Falls After Analyst Downgrade
Applied Materials Company Profile
Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.
The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.
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