QV Investors Inc. Has $8.78 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

QV Investors Inc. lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 24,900 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 146.0% during the 4th quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,983 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 12,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 7,175 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $348.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $347.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.07. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

About Applied Materials

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.