Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,544 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,544 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.5% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 208,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $42,763,000 after buying an additional 28,048 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 346.6% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 51,769 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,599,000 after acquiring an additional 40,178 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $203,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.14.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to Outperform and raised its price target to $370, citing accelerating WFE (wafer fab equipment) spending as a multi‑year tailwind. Mizuho Upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT) to Outperform on Global WFE Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Key analysts (including KeyBanc and others cited across outlets) have raised price targets (KeyBanc to $380) and highlighted AMAT’s diversified position in deposition/etch and benefits from increased chip manufacturing intensity. Mizuho upgrades Applied Materials to Outperform as WFE spending accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Several buy‑side pieces (Seeking Alpha, analyst blogs) call AMAT an attractive buy into the upcoming Q1 report, pointing to semiconductor momentum and durable multi‑year tailwinds. Applied Materials: Attractive Buy Ahead Of The Q1 2026 Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows large institutional/speculative positioning (“whales”), which can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t guarantee fundamental change. Traders should watch open interest and expiries. This Is What Whales Are Betting On Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry discussion is underway about AMAT’s ability to challenge ASML at the high end — a long‑term strategic theme that could support upside but is uncertain and execution‑dependent. Can AMAT Break ASML’s Monopoly?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights rising trade and cost pressures that could offset semiconductor momentum — a nearer‑term risk to margins and guidance that may be pressuring the stock today. Applied Materials leads Zacks’ latest Analyst Blog
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation factors: AMAT has run sharply higher over the past year and now trades at an elevated multiple (PE and PEG above historical norms). Higher trading volume on the pullback suggests profit‑taking and short‑term selling pressure. (Background market data.)

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $322.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $281.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.23. The stock has a market cap of $255.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.