Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $11.56 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,980 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,415 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $432.16 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The company has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $388.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.14.

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.