AMJ Financial Wealth Management Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

AMJ Financial Wealth Management raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 122.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,214 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.7% of AMJ Financial Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. AMJ Financial Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised their price target on Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $463.89.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $379.09 and its 200-day moving average is $319.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. 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 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.