Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $499.48 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1,704.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,304,369 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.3% of Pacer Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.31% of Applied Materials worth $499,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $260.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $276.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

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.