Ameriflex Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 781 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its stake in Applied Materials by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% in the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.12.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $217.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $173.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $179.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.41. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $226.41.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Applied Materials Company 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.