Peterson Wealth Services Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11,160.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,126 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the quarter. Peterson Wealth Services’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 11.2%

AMAT stock opened at $552.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $438.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.89, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $422.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $557.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

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.