Praxis Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,859 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,043 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $259.21 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $206.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $276.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.