Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by NFSG Corp

NFSG Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 271.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,184 shares during the quarter. NFSG Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.7%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $430.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $483.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $341.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $637.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 worth $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 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 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

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.