Tobam Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Tobam grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 671.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,303 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,616 shares during the quarter. Tobam’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $617.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $489.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $638.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $451.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. 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 Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $489.16.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.