Maia Wealth LLC Has $2.39 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,664 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,214 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.3%

AMAT opened at $341.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $334.48 and a 200-day moving average of $261.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. BNP Paribas Exane raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

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.