Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Optas LLC

Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,032 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $217.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $173.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 business 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $196.85.

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.