HF Advisory Group LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 992.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 126,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 114,639 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.2% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 52.9% in the 2nd quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $353.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $346.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

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.