Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,562 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,466 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $352.62 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $347.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.95. The stock has a market cap of $279.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $395.95.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

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.