Triton Financial Group Inc Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Triton Financial Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,632 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,687,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 4.4% of Triton Financial Group Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.3% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $550.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $456.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.