Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 173,770 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $44,657,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $323.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $256.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $344.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $277.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue 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, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. 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 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.