HB Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,821 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,844 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $603.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $499.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $390.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Argus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.56.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on Applied Materials, with Zacks upgrading the stock to strong-buy and other recent research highlighting AMAT as a key beneficiary of the AI semiconductor equipment cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Applied Materials is benefiting from accelerating growth in AI-related chip demand, with record earnings momentum and a new Street-high target reinforcing the bull case. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also discussed DRAM and advanced packaging innovations tied to AI-driven semiconductor growth, which supports the view that its product mix remains well positioned for the current cycle. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles question whether AMAT is becoming too expensive after its rally, suggesting valuation concerns could limit upside if growth expectations cool. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Burry reportedly added to short bets against Applied Materials and other chip names, adding a bearish sentiment overlay on the semiconductor sector. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two recent stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still owns a large position. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks, including AMAT, also came under pressure in broader sector selloffs as investors worried that AI-driven chip demand may be cooling and took profits after a strong rally. Article Title

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.