932 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Bought by Old North State Trust LLC

Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 932 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents 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, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $617.11 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $451.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.90. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $638.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.94, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.