Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Makes New $1.32 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AMAT opened at $328.40 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $344.60. The firm has a market cap of $260.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $283.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.68.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.