Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by BCS Wealth Management

BCS Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 104.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,731 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $394.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $312.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.80 and a 12 month high of $407.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $292.64.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

About Applied Materials

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.