Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,729 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Meridian Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,317 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,729 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AMAT opened at $226.01 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $242.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.28 and its 200 day moving average is $187.06. 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 earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.74.

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.