Townsquare Capital LLC Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,495 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,993 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to Outperform, raising its price target to $370 (from $275), citing a projected acceleration in WFE spending that should lift orders and equipment demand. Mizuho upgrades Applied Materials to Outperform as WFE spending accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc and Goldman Sachs are publicly backing AMAT (KeyBanc raised its target to $380), highlighting multi‑year semiconductor tailwinds, diversified product exposure, and rising deposition/etch intensity that support higher share demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains Analyst Support as Multi-Year Semiconductor Tailwinds Take Shape
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (Jim Cramer) pointed to structural supply tightness for AMAT’s tools, reinforcing a narrative of sustained orders and pricing leverage. Applied Materials (AMAT) Has a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analyst roundups and media pieces are amplifying recent upgrades and price-target increases, increasing investor attention and trading volume but adding no new company-specific data. Top Analyst Reports for Applied Materials, Linde & Abbott
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks’ analyst blog flagged rising trade frictions and cost pressures that could blunt margins or delay some capital spending, a reminder that macro and geopolitical risks could weigh on upside. Applied Materials leads Zacks’ latest Analyst Blog, with strong semiconductor momentum offset by rising trade and cost pressures

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4%

Applied Materials stock opened at $341.34 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $344.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.14.

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.