Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $209.95 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $182.60 and its 200 day moving average is $171.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $226.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Cfra Research upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.50.

About Applied Materials

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.