EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Buys 8,983 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,636 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,983 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.8% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Disciplina Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.96.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $230.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $201.03 and a 200-day moving average of $182.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

About Applied Materials

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.