Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is F&V Capital Management LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

F&V Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 95,196 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 3.6% of F&V Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 59,228 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,159,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,579 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $353.80 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $346.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.