Venture Visionary Partners LLC Acquires 3,446 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in 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. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Key Applied Materials News

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

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $585.78 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $599.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $431.96 and its 200 day moving average is $355.90. The company has a market capitalization of $465.09 billion, a PE ratio of 55.00, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.