HF Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

HF Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,758 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,794 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $399.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $351.86 and a 200 day moving average of $288.58. The company has a market capitalization of $316.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.80 and a 1-year high of $407.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Breakthrough tool launch — Applied announced new 2nm GAA deposition tools and broader chipmaking systems aimed at next‑gen AI logic chips; market reacted strongly to the product cycle and AI demand implications. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Price target and ratings lift — Susquehanna raised its AMAT price target to $500 and moved to a positive rating, and other brokers have reiterated buys or a “moderate buy” consensus, providing analyst‑driven upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage confirmations — Bernstein reaffirmed a buy and coverage summaries show an overall constructive analyst stance, supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DRAM business gains traction — Coverage notes strong DRAM demand driven by AI and key partnerships, but cautions that rising competition could limit the durability of the surge. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data flagged but appears to be a data anomaly — a report showed a jump in “short interest” figures that resolve to zero shares (NaN/inconsistent), so no clear bearish signal from shorts. (data entry 4/10)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — broader market moves (e.g., macro headlines and risk‑on sentiment) have amplified momentum in semiconductors; useful but not AMAT‑specific. Article Title

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.04.

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.