Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $40,428,000 after buying an additional 8,680 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $410,000. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $755,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $226.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $182.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.79. The company has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.50.

Applied Materials 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.