Faithward Advisors LLC Makes New $331,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Faithward Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its price target on Applied Materials to $715 from $520 and kept an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in semiconductor capital equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also raised its price target on AMAT to $720 from $540 and reiterated a Buy rating, suggesting analysts see additional upside from AI-led chip demand. Applied Materials price target raised by Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a potential winner from growing semiconductor complexity and AI chip production, with some commentary arguing the stock may still be undervalued relative to long-term growth prospects. How Applied Materials Could Become the Next $1 Trillion Chip Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a transaction that may get attention but does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which is supportive for income-focused investors but not a major short-term catalyst. Applied Materials insider trades and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent articles noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which could limit near-term upside if AI spending expectations ease. Applied Materials Stock Looks Pricey—Can AI Demand Justify the Rally?

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.26.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $586.54 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $463.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $641.18. The company has a market capitalization of $465.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.07, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

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.