71 West Capital Partners Invests $1 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

71 West Capital Partners purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 3,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $585.78 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $599.62. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $431.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.90. The firm has a market cap of $465.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.00, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a sign it is targeting growing demand for advanced AI chips and next-generation semiconductor scaling. Applied Materials Unveils Deposition and Selective Etch Systems to Advance 3D Chip Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Applied Materials to $590 from $500 and kept an Overweight rating, reflecting higher expectations for wafer fab equipment spending and capital investment trends. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets Higher Price Targets from Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and other bullish articles highlighted AMAT as a stock investors may want to own when semiconductor demand strengthens, adding to the day’s favorable sentiment around the name. Jim Cramer Says “I’ll Go for AMAT”
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary warned that the recent rally has pushed Applied Materials to stretched valuation levels, suggesting the stock may be extended after a sharp rebound and could be vulnerable to a pullback if momentum fades. Buy, Hold, or Sell: Applied Materials Surged Right Back Toward $500 Following a Brutal June Flush. Here’s Where I’d Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece argued that AMAT is “not cheap enough to buy” but also “too strong to sell,” reinforcing the view that the stock is richly valued but supported by solid fundamentals. Applied Materials: Not Cheap Enough To Buy, Too Strong To Sell
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT has already rebounded sharply and may be too extended for fresh buying at current levels, which could limit upside if investors become more cautious. Buy, Hold, or Sell: Applied Materials Surged Right Back Toward $500 Following a Brutal June Flush. Here’s Where I’d Buy

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

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.