Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Wellington Shields & Co. LLC

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 60.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $432.16 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $388.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.