Caldwell Trust Co Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 13,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,434,000.

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $259.21 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $276.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.97.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.74.

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.