Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Has $42.20 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 164,210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,397 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 3.0% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $42,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $463.89.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $379.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 38.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.