North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC Has $1.35 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 219.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,243 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.8% of North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in 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 valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% in 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 buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% in 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 buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $508.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $404.70 and its 200-day moving average is $339.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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