Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 65.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,274,596 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 502,985 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $233,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,409,320,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,085,600,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $882,396,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Applied Materials by 43.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $808,853,000 after buying an additional 1,691,428 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,836,000 after buying an additional 1,502,995 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $242.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $220.98 and a 200 day moving average of $191.03. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $244.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.08, for a total value of $936,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 88,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,681,202.08. This represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.