Banco Santander S.A. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,077 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,441 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $228.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $182.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $232.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.82.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.15.

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.