Vestcor Inc Has $8.12 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vestcor Inc increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 31,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,849 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.7%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $510.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.31.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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.