Arax Advisory Partners Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Arax Advisory Partners lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,357 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,432 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $567.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $450.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $427.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.48. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $569.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 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 for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.