Hanseatic Management Services Inc. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,462 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000. Applied Materials accounts for 1.5% of Hanseatic Management Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $529.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $533.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $413.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

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.