MidFirst Bank Takes $839,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,264 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $839,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $451.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $364.90. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $638.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $489.16.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance

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.