Hennessy Advisors Inc. Invests $5.38 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,434 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $550.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $456.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

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.