Morningstar Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,632 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 23.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,860,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,140,836,000 after buying an additional 1,502,995 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,656,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,038,504,000 after buying an additional 1,046,635 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 20.7% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,043,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $808,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $218.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $173.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.82. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $226.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.62.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Finally, Daiwa America lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.54.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.