LifeSteps Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 32.8% in the second quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 97,516 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $17,852,000 after acquiring an additional 24,093 shares in the last quarter. Puzo Michael J purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,702,000. Broderick Brian C bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $974,000. Kidder Stephen W purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $741,000. Finally, Hendley & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hendley & Co. Inc. now owns 31,756 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,814,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.5%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $211.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $168.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $226.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $180.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. 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 up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.