Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Sold by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 241,627 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 6.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $123,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $309.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $457.66 and a 200-day moving average of $443.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.