Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 75.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 55,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,744 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $432.16 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $448.45. The stock has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $387.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $326.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.14.

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.