Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Acquires 331 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,870 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shelton Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $233.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $185.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $242.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $198.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.18.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.96.

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.