Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,026 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,338 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $281.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $223.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $252.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.37. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $298.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.