Kestra Advisory Services LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,148 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,369 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $38,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $13.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $517.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $402.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.