Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,902 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $575.39 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $521.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $405.52. The stock has a market cap of $456.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.03, a PEG ratio of 1.53 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 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 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.48.

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.