BNB Wealth Management LLC Invests $458,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

BNB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $685,684,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $489.16.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $592.92 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 market cap of $470.75 billion, a PE ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $441.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $360.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $623.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It’s AI.

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.