Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,342 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,724 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $51,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $502.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $398.58 billion, a PE ratio of 47.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $510.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $407.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

About Applied Materials

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.