Larson Financial Group LLC Has $24.95 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 60.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 121,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,055 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 0.9% of Larson Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $346.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $335.72 and a 200-day moving average of $264.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

About Applied Materials

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.