J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,264 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $502.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $407.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.53. 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 stock has a market cap of $398.58 billion, a PE ratio of 47.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $510.75.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

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.