Fiduciary Financial Advisors Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,054 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,589,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 183.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $380.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $556.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. William Blair initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

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.