North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the 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 directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $550.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research 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 an average price target of $657.76.

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.