Formidable Asset Management LLC Has $2.33 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5%

AMAT opened at $348.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $276.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $346.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.