Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,855 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $337.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $267.58 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record DRAM tools, new 2nm GAA tool announcements, a 15% dividend increase and steps to strengthen Asian logistics support renewed optimism about AMAT’s AI/DRAM exposure and cash returns to shareholders. Applied Materials Is Up After Record DRAM Tools, Dividend Hike And AI Supply-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst research (Erste Group) is modeling materially higher EPS for FY2026–FY2027 versus consensus (Erste’s FY2027 $13.96 estimate vs. current consensus ~ $9.38), signaling some brokers expect stronger multi-year profitability. Erste Group EPS Estimates for AMAT
• Positive Sentiment: Research notes point to growing end markets—high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging for AI chips—that could accelerate AMAT revenue beyond cyclicality in legacy fabs. Can HBM and Packaging Demand Accelerate AMAT’s Revenue Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and positioning pieces comparing ASML and Applied highlight both stocks as strong buys but emphasize different moats; ASML retains a premium for EUV dominance while AMAT is seen as cheaper exposure to broad equipment demand. ASML vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Offers Better Value in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketBeat piece flags that tech earnings growth hasn’t fully translated into ETF/stock price gains, suggesting broader market flow dynamics (not company fundamentals) may be capping AMAT’s rally. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media comparisons are elevating ACM Research (ACMR) as a better pure-play WFE/AI equipment buy, which can divert investor dollars away from AMAT in the near term. AMAT vs. ACMR: Which WFE Stock is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles spotlight ACMR’s momentum and niche wins in wafer-cleaning and AI-driven segments, amplifying competitive fear and rotation risk for AMAT. This AI Semi Equipment Maker Has Been Quietly Chewing Up the Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Broad-sector weakness hit semiconductor-equipment names in a recent selloff (Teradyne, Intel, KLA, Semtech cited alongside AMAT), pressuring the stock independent of AMAT-specific fundamentals. Teradyne, Applied Materials, Intel, KLA and Semtech Shares Plummet

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials 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.