SteelPeak Wealth LLC Buys 31,245 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 93.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,758 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,245 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $256.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $246.95 and its 200-day moving average is $208.50. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $276.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $203.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s 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. Equities research analysts anticipate 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, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

Applied Materials Company 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.