Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,381 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its price target to $575, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and pointing to more upside potential. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights AMAT’s blowout quarterly results, higher outlook, and new AI chip equipment partnerships with companies like Broadcom and SCREEN, all of which support expectations for continued demand in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Assessing Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Earnings Beat And New AI Chip Equipment Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is in its strongest period ever, with AI driving unprecedented computing demand, which adds to the long-term growth narrative for Applied Materials. This is the greatest time ever for semiconductors, says CEO of key equipment supplier
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT continues to attract bullish commentary from analysts and market commentators as a leading AI semiconductor equipment play, helping sustain momentum in the shares. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which kept investors focused on management’s outlook but did not add a major new catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Judy Bruner may create a modest headwind, though the sale was small relative to her remaining stake and does not appear to change the broader bullish thesis. Applied Materials director Judy Bruner stock sale

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $450.06 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $397.25 and a 200 day moving average of $334.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $462.40. The firm has a market cap of $357.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

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.