Signet Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 1,495 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Signet Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,495 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $480.13.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials received a new Street-high price target from a top Wall Street analyst, reinforcing the view that the stock can still move higher. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Scores a New Street-High Price Target from a Top Wall Street Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its Singapore manufacturing and R&D footprint with a $500 million Tampines Campus to support rising AI-chip demand, which highlights long-term growth opportunities in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor also raised price targets across chip-equipment peers, including Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop for the group. KLA Corp., Lam Research, Applied Materials, ASML in focus as Cantor ups price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, signaling strong capital returns, though the move is usually more supportive than immediately price-driving. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted the stock slipping in pre-market trading despite the expansion news, suggesting investors are weighing the capital spending against the long-term AI demand story. AMAT Stock Falls despite Capacity Expansion as AI Fuels Demand for Chipmaking Gears

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AMAT opened at $497.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $418.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $348.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $534.44. The stock has a market cap of $394.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s 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. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.