MW Advisory LLC Takes $1.45 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

MW Advisory LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,009 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,551,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $269,000. Old Mission Investment Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,376,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Turner Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $602,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $454.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $360.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.82 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $533.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles

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.