Ritholtz Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,206 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 13.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $668.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $468.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $375.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $669.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $530.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $770.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.65.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, including tools for higher-yield chip stacking and wafer metrology, strengthening its position in AI chip manufacturing. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary has turned more upbeat, with Wells Fargo raising its price target sharply and other coverage pointing to continued strength in semiconductor equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI-chip optimism also helped sentiment across the sector, with Micron-led strength reinforcing the idea that memory and chip-equipment names could benefit from the next leg of AI spending. Micron Sparks Fresh AI Stock Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful bearish positioning change, so this does not appear to be a driver of the stock move. Applied Materials stock information

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.