Conning Inc. Has $6.22 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,359 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,708 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $301.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.05. 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 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $310.64.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were 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 owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.