Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Buys 1,884 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 343.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 14,312 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,678,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 146.0% during the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,983 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 12,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $348.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $347.12 and a 200-day moving average of $282.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. 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 currently 21.70%.

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.