WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 22,864 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 115.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,692 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,864 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $508.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $404.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $339.58. The company has a market capitalization of $397.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.