5,494 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 32.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,417 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,494 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after acquiring an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,211,000 after acquiring an additional 28,982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $446.63 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 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 market cap of $354.45 billion, a PE ratio of 42.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $484.96.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and assigned a $600 price target, implying substantial potential upside. Analysts overall see roughly 39% upside based on consensus targets, supported by favorable earnings-estimate revisions. Applied Materials long-term targets
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled its EPIC semiconductor research and development center, backed by major industry partners including Intel, Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung. The approximately $5 billion initiative is intended to accelerate advanced-chip development and strengthen the company’s position in AI infrastructure. Applied Materials EPIC center
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted potential market-share gains, eBeam equipment revenue of about $2 billion in 2026 and semiconductor-services revenue exceeding $12 billion by 2030. Applied Ventures also invested in Flexcompute to advance AI-powered physics modeling for faster chip research and development. Applied Ventures Flexcompute investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials has continued to beat quarterly earnings expectations, but investors are weighing those results against an elevated valuation and concerns about how much future AI spending is already reflected in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock came under pressure after the investor-day presentation because the 2030 margin and growth targets were viewed as conservative or insufficiently specific. Reports also pointed to an omission that raised concerns about the company’s future outlook, tempering enthusiasm for the otherwise strong AI-demand narrative. Why Applied Materials sank
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares broadly sold off as investors took profits after a strong run, with weakness in overseas chip markets adding pressure. Broader technology declines and uncertainty ahead of inflation data further reduced risk appetite. Semiconductor equipment stock selloff

About Applied Materials

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.