Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,006 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,620 shares during the quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,951,691 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,455,716,000 after acquiring an additional 291,358 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,140,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,995 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,409,320,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,038,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,635 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $224.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $178.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $242.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $218.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $189.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.74.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.08, for a total transaction of $936,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 88,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,681,202.08. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.