William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 463,006 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1,325.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 497,946 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 463,006 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 1.1% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $360,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% in the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $484.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $560.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $453.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.