4,266 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Bought by Maxele Advisors LLC

Maxele Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 4,266 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.2% of Maxele Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.3%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $550.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $456.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.