Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $203.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $162.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.15.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.