Schroder Investment Management Group Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 458,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $83,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quaker Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 133.3% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.04.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $252.03 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $252.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $224.86 and a 200 day moving average of $192.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

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.