Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Position Raised by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 183.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $379.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $463.89.

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.