Citizens Business Bank Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Citizens Business Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,623 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 204.8% in the fourth quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 140,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,177,000 after purchasing an additional 94,587 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $640.17.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $507.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a PE ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $564.15 and a 200 day moving average of $444.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 30.05%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.