Archvest Wealth Advisors Inc. Buys New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Archvest Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,037 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,579,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.7% of Archvest Wealth Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. HSBC started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $404.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $397.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $508.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials 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.