National Wealth Management Group LLC Has $1.18 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

National Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 275.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,603 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,377 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,744,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 210,063 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $53,984,000 after buying an additional 6,245 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,145,000. Finally, Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investor letters point to improving wafer‑fab spending visibility, which supports AMAT’s order outlook and medium‑term revenue cadence. Applied Materials (AMAT) Surged on Improving Wafer-Fab Spending Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple fund manager letters and coverage highlight strong AI‑chip demand and resilient operating performance at Applied, supporting upside to margins and backlog. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Gained on Strong AI Chip Demand and Resilient Operating Performance
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. policy initiatives and a large investment consortium aimed at semiconductor, energy and critical‑minerals supply chains increase the addressable market for equipment suppliers like AMAT over the long run. US Semiconductor Push Adds New Thread To Applied Materials Story
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in recent coverage, with analysts and bulls pointing to AMAT’s strong fundamentals and reasonable forward multiple given secular AI/capex tailwinds. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials (AMAT): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several “is AMAT a buy?” and trending‑stock pieces summarize bullish theses (valuation, AI exposure) but contain broader market commentary rather than new company-specific catalysts. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports show a large reported “increase” in short interest for March but the published figures appear erroneous (zero shares / NaN); treat that data point cautiously until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, broader tech/ETF outflows and profit‑taking in high‑beta tech names are applying near‑term pressure on AMAT shares despite strong underlying demand signals.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $369.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

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.