Maxele Advisors LLC Takes $911,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Maxele Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,450 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $911,000.

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

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $346.18 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $264.45. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $274.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue 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 analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.