PeakShares LLC Buys Shares of 3,083 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

PeakShares LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials 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 owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $560.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $531.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $412.23. 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 released its 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

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.