MOR Wealth Management LLC Makes New $781,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

MOR Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,040 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Private Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, First City Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record DRAM tools, new 2nm GAA tool announcements, a 15% dividend increase and steps to strengthen Asian logistics support renewed optimism about AMAT’s AI/DRAM exposure and cash returns to shareholders. Applied Materials Is Up After Record DRAM Tools, Dividend Hike And AI Supply-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst research (Erste Group) is modeling materially higher EPS for FY2026–FY2027 versus consensus (Erste’s FY2027 $13.96 estimate vs. current consensus ~ $9.38), signaling some brokers expect stronger multi-year profitability. Erste Group EPS Estimates for AMAT
• Positive Sentiment: Research notes point to growing end markets—high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging for AI chips—that could accelerate AMAT revenue beyond cyclicality in legacy fabs. Can HBM and Packaging Demand Accelerate AMAT’s Revenue Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and positioning pieces comparing ASML and Applied highlight both stocks as strong buys but emphasize different moats; ASML retains a premium for EUV dominance while AMAT is seen as cheaper exposure to broad equipment demand. ASML vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Offers Better Value in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketBeat piece flags that tech earnings growth hasn’t fully translated into ETF/stock price gains, suggesting broader market flow dynamics (not company fundamentals) may be capping AMAT’s rally. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media comparisons are elevating ACM Research (ACMR) as a better pure-play WFE/AI equipment buy, which can divert investor dollars away from AMAT in the near term. AMAT vs. ACMR: Which WFE Stock is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles spotlight ACMR’s momentum and niche wins in wafer-cleaning and AI-driven segments, amplifying competitive fear and rotation risk for AMAT. This AI Semi Equipment Maker Has Been Quietly Chewing Up the Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Broad-sector weakness hit semiconductor-equipment names in a recent selloff (Teradyne, Intel, KLA, Semtech cited alongside AMAT), pressuring the stock independent of AMAT-specific fundamentals. Teradyne, Applied Materials, Intel, KLA and Semtech Shares Plummet

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $337.17 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $345.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $267.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

About Applied Materials

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.