Markel Group Inc. Buys 7,850 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,850 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $432.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.47 and a 52 week high of $448.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $387.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $326.06.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Applied Materials 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.