Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $15.12 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 58,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,184 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third 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. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $337.17 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company has a market capitalization of $267.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $345.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.78. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’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 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

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.