Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Boosted by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,067 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced Broadcom as an EPIC innovation partner, deepening its role in advanced packaging R&D for AI chips and systems. Applied Materials Announces Broadcom as EPIC Innovation Partner
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted AMAT’s strong Q1 results, including revenue and earnings beats plus upbeat guidance, reinforcing the view that AI spending is lifting semiconductor equipment demand. AMAT Q1 Deep Dive: AI Demand Drives Growth in Semiconductor Equipment and Services
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was named to a Zacks Rank #1 momentum list, suggesting analysts see continued near-term strength in the stock’s trend. Best Momentum Stocks to Buy for May 20th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compared AMAT favorably with peers like Lam Research, but these were mostly valuation and strategy discussions rather than new company-specific developments. Lam Research vs. Applied Materials: Which AI Chip Stock Has the Edge?
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT was mentioned among semiconductor names that fell during a broader sector sell-off tied to Samsung labor-strike concerns and TSMC-related supply-chain worries, which could create short-term pressure. MACOM, Applied Materials, and Photronics Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

AMAT opened at $427.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $385.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.47 and a twelve month high of $448.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $339.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. HSBC initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Applied Materials 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.