2,760 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Purchased by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,760 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,411,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,688,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,751 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,032,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 68.0% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 146,209 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $75,042,000 after buying an additional 59,199 shares during the period. Point Nemo Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $1,628,000. Finally, Uhlmann Price Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.5% during the third quarter. Uhlmann Price Securities LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor equipment stocks rallied broadly, with Applied Materials among the leaders, as investors rotated back into chip-related names after the sector’s recent sell-off. Applied Materials Jumps Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking to continued AI-related chip-equipment demand, advanced packaging growth and rising memory investment to support AMAT’s outlook in its upcoming quarterly report. Analysts remain broadly optimistic, and B. Riley maintained a Buy rating despite lowering its price target. AMAT to Post Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The rally comes ahead of a closely watched earnings report, which could set the direction for the shares. The company’s outlook will be important in gauging whether demand can sustain the recent recovery. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include supply concerns ahead of earnings and valuation: one analysis argues the stock may be above fair value after its substantial longer-term advance. Any cautious guidance or signs of weaker demand could undermine the rebound. Applied Materials Stock Looks Above Fair Value

Applied Materials Trading Up 11.4%

AMAT opened at $370.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $294.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $443.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $444.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $625.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products.

The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world.