1,290 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Acquired by Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,290 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Shelton Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.08, for a total value of $936,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 88,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,681,202.08. This trade represents a 4.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $224.01 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $218.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.74.

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.