Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC Invests $406,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,578 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sargent Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $419,000. Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 308,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $79,401,000 after purchasing an additional 20,760 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 365.2% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 565,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $143,291,000 after purchasing an additional 443,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $567.25 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $427.22 and its 200-day moving average is $353.48. The stock has a market cap of $450.37 billion, a PE ratio of 53.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $569.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned 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 $483.03.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

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.