Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock: Weaver Capital Management LLC Boosts Position

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $31,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled its approximately $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The center, supported by companies including Intel, Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung, is intended to accelerate chip development and strengthen AMAT’s long-term position in advanced manufacturing. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating and set a $600 price target. Other coverage highlights AMAT’s fifth consecutive earnings beat, improving earnings estimates, and what analysts view as attractive upside after the stock’s recent decline. Applied Materials could nearly double within 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT is being cited as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price semiconductor stock, supported by its broad wafer-fabrication equipment portfolio and expected benefits from expanding chip and AI infrastructure capacity. ASML vs. Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: some firms remain bullish, while others are conflicted on the technology sector and AMAT specifically. A report also noted that 31 ETFs added AMAT shares, indicating continued institutional interest but not necessarily a near-term catalyst. Analysts conflicted on technology names
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT’s decline followed a six-session losing streak and weakness across chip stocks. Investor Day disclosures, including the company’s optical-inspection expansion and long-term targets, have not yet overcome investor concerns about near-term execution, elevated valuation, and semiconductor-sector volatility. Applied Materials drops during Investor Day

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $637.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $430.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $483.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $341.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.