Focus Partners Wealth Purchases 443,868 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 365.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 565,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 443,868 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $143,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $685,684,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $567.25 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $569.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $450.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $427.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $352.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.