Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,750 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 975 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after purchasing an additional 8,680 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.7% in the first quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 311.2% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $755,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $224.99 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $232.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa America cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $206.08.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.