Hilltop Holdings Inc. Buys 1,530 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 153.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,527 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $536.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $425.76 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $544.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.08. 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 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

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.