Assetmark Inc. Buys 32,136 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,513 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,136 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $96,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $395.72 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $353.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $314.04 billion, a PE ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.80 and a 52-week high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.