Fund Advisors of America Inc FL Takes $316,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fund Advisors of America Inc FL acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $451.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.90. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $638.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $489.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.94, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $489.16.

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.