Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Acquired by Weaver Capital Management LLC

Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,812 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 4,656 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 141.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,283,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $656,310,000 after acquiring an additional 751,400 shares during the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.3% in the third quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 3,813 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.5% in the third quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 923.9% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,628 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,469 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled its approximately $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The center, supported by companies including Intel, Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung, is intended to accelerate chip development and strengthen AMAT’s long-term position in advanced manufacturing. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating and set a $600 price target. Other coverage highlights AMAT’s fifth consecutive earnings beat, improving earnings estimates, and what analysts view as attractive upside after the stock’s recent decline. Applied Materials could nearly double within 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT is being cited as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price semiconductor stock, supported by its broad wafer-fabrication equipment portfolio and expected benefits from expanding chip and AI infrastructure capacity. ASML vs. Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: some firms remain bullish, while others are conflicted on the technology sector and AMAT specifically. A report also noted that 31 ETFs added AMAT shares, indicating continued institutional interest but not necessarily a near-term catalyst. Analysts conflicted on technology names
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT’s decline followed a six-session losing streak and weakness across chip stocks. Investor Day disclosures, including the company’s optical-inspection expansion and long-term targets, have not yet overcome investor concerns about near-term execution, elevated valuation, and semiconductor-sector volatility. Applied Materials drops during Investor Day

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $637.14.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.7%

Applied Materials stock opened at $430.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $483.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.62. The company has a market cap of $341.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.