Apexium Financial LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Apexium Financial LP boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after acquiring an additional 8,680 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 311.2% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 9,781 shares during the period. Finally, Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 15th. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.7%

Applied Materials stock opened at $217.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $173.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $226.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $179.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.