Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $11.60 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,155 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $284.32 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $287.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.43.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 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 yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Twenty-one 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 a consensus target price of $246.78.

Insider Activity

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