Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 107,507 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $77,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock worth $169,030,834 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $484.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $560.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.08. The company has a market cap of $384.25 billion, a PE ratio of 41.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.83.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.