Sen. Purchases Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Senator (R-Florida) recently bought shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). In a filing disclosed on February 21st, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $100,001 and $250,000 in Applied Materials stock on January 22nd.

Senator also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) on 1/22/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) on 1/22/2025.
• Sold $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) on 1/21/2025.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.98 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

About Senator

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.