Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 6,368 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

AMAT stock opened at $228.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $213.61 and a 200-day moving average of $187.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $242.50. The company has a market capitalization of $182.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.74.

Applied Materials Profile

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.