Baker Chad R Purchases Shares of 9,360 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Baker Chad R acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,360 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.2% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 7,543 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the first quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 6,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.5% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,226,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $177,976,000 after purchasing an additional 353,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $261.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $276.10.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.78.

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.