Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 58,828 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 196,747 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 58,828 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $41,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Maseco LLP bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.89.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $321.22 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $265.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market cap of $254.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $331.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.