Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Purchases 2,363 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,129,000 after buying an additional 6,704 shares in the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 77,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,128,000 after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 99,713 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,455 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cfra Research upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.96.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $230.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $183.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Applied Materials Profile

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.