LSV Asset Management Acquires 15,764 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,666,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,764 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $341,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after purchasing an additional 407,282 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $339.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $269.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $292.28 and a 200-day moving average of $234.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and says DOJ and SEC closed related probes — the outcome removes legal uncertainty and lets management refocus on growth. Applied Materials Reaches Resolution with the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: RBC reiterated Outperform and other firms (B. Riley, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank) have raised ratings/targets, supporting upside expectations into earnings. Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley recently raised its AMAT price target to $400 (reaffirmed Buy), reflecting confidence in strong FY‑Q1 results and AI-driven demand. B. Riley Raises Applied Materials Price Target to $400
• Positive Sentiment: Applied unveiled new deposition/etch/ALD systems (Viva, Sym3 Z Magnum, Spectral) targeted at 2nm GAA logic — tools are being adopted by leading foundries and address AI compute demand. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung will join Applied’s new $5B EPIC R&D center — a strategic partnership that strengthens customer ties and long-term equipment demand. Applied Materials Announces Samsung Electronics Will Join the New, Multibillion-Dollar EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and demand backdrop: previews point to strong wafer‑fab and display strength driven by AI, but valuation is elevated after the recent rally ahead of Q1 results. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notes are mixed/confusing in data feeds (recent reporting shows large changes and low days-to-cover); not a clear near-term driver. Quiver Quant Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Applied agreed to pay $252.5M to the Dept. of Commerce for alleged export non‑compliance (Nov 2020–Jul 2022) — a material one‑time charge that will hit cash/earnings for the period and raises questions about past compliance controls. Applied Materials to pay $252 million to resolve illegal chip exports, US says (Reuters)

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.