2,494 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Acquired by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,494 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Daiwa America cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $224.01 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $242.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.08, for a total value of $936,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 88,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,681,202.08. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.