Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Novem Group

Novem Group grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 306.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Novem Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $391.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.80 and a fifty-two week high of $407.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $361.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.01.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.