Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by STF Management LP

STF Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 63.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,561 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,990 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.1% of STF Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. STF Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $379.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $448.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $463.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

About Applied Materials

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.