Montag A & Associates Inc. Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,821 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Argus raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.65.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.5%

AMAT opened at $554.50 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $506.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $396.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.07, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm 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 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ, an AI-powered platform designed to speed development of smart glasses, which supports the company’s positioning in next-generation AI hardware and could expand long-term growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $647 and Goldman Sachs also boosting its target, reinforcing optimism around AMAT’s earnings momentum and AI-driven demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted AMAT as a Strong Buy momentum stock, noting its strong rebound from the 52-week low and continued support from broad AI-related equipment demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage noted that AMAT had been one of the strongest stocks in the semiconductor group before today’s pullback, suggesting the move may reflect a short-term cooldown rather than a change in the longer-term trend. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are falling alongside the broader chip sector, with investors rotating out of semiconductor names amid an industry-wide tech selloff and caution tied to memory-chip sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another market recap said AMAT declined more than the broader market, adding to near-term downside pressure even though the company’s fundamentals remain strong. Article Title

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.