Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Invests $989,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Danessa Lincoln on Jan 17th, 2026

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,830 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $989,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 31.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,601,000 after acquiring an additional 35,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after acquiring an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s $52–$56B 2026 capex guidance creates near‑term, high‑certainty demand for equipment suppliers like Applied Materials — MarketBeat explains that TSMC must buy new, specialized deposition and other tools (benefitting AMAT) to move to 2nm production. The $56 Billion Draft: Follow TSMC’s CapEx Stream
Positive Sentiment: Applied topped out at a new all‑time high as investors front‑run TSMC-driven equipment demand; KeyBanc says AMAT can push higher in 2026. Applied Materials Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Should You Buy AMAT Here?
Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side upgrades (Barclays, RBC, Stifel and others) have raised ratings/targets and highlighted AMAT’s exposure to AI capex and HBM growth, supporting upward price momentum. Applied Materials, AEI Industries, MKS in focus as KeyBanc ups targets
Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade specifically cited AI‑driven fab spending as a catalyst, which helped spur intraday gains. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business hit $1.5B in FY25 and is positioned to double as memory/AI packaging ramps — a structural growth driver cited by analysts. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary offers trade ideas and allocation strategies (e.g., “drafting the titan”) that favor equipment vendors instead of chip designers — useful context but not a direct company update. Here Is A Smart Way To Invest In AMAT Stock
Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is due to report its next quarter soon; analysts expect a single‑digit EPS decrease, so near‑term guidance and orders will be watched closely for confirmation of the TSMC-driven rebound. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning risk: AMAT is trading near its 52‑week high with elevated multiples (PE/PEG), so any hiccup in order timing, customer pushouts or margin guidance could trigger a pullback. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is a Trending Stock

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $327.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $331.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.25.

Check Out Our Latest Report on AMAT

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Profile

(Free Report)

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.