Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 94.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,976 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,051 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.6% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $536.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $425.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $544.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.