QV Investors Inc. Acquires 30,610 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

QV Investors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 60.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.5% of QV Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Barclays lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.15.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $228.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $232.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $191.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.63.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

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.