Vest Financial LLC Has $47.89 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,127 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lion Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 23.9% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 28,693 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,533 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 69.5% in the second quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 17,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,122 shares during the last quarter. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 758 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $209.95 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $226.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.79. The firm has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.50.

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.