Eagle Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,317 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.0% of Eagle Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Eagle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.8% during the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $261.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $276.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $244.27 and its 200 day moving average is $206.11. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The company’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, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors 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 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.78.

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.