LRI Investments LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 758 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 220,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,428,000 after acquiring an additional 8,680 shares during the period. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its stake in Applied Materials by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 26,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 311.2% during the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after purchasing an additional 9,781 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $755,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $209.95 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $182.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $226.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. 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 0.9%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.50.

Applied Materials 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.