Hilton Capital Management LLC Sells 2,236 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hilton Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,620 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,236 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.8% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $507.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $445.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.17.

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.