Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock: Jackson Square Capital LLC Increases Holdings

Jackson Square Capital LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,205 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.4% of Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Jackson Square Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,589,000. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,211,000 after buying an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.3%

AMAT stock traded up $9.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $418.80. 2,684,212 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,865,418. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $480.52 and its 200-day moving average is $486.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $332.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.19, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $590.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.