Asset One Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 16,729 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Asset One Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 16,729 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,299,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It’s AI.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $592.92 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $623.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $441.16 and a 200 day moving average of $360.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $470.75 billion, a PE ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

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.