Soundwatch Capital LLC Sells 755,950 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Soundwatch Capital LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 99.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,713 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 755,950 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 0.1% of Soundwatch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Soundwatch Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $322.51 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $255.98 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $288.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.21. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.15.

More Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

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.