RFG Advisory LLC Acquires 2,521 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 32.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,297 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,521 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 183.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $472.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $375.21 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.75 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $523.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.73.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.