Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires 3,022 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 386.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,022 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of Rakuten Securities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $484.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $560.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.08. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $384.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Argus set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $659.83.

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.