Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Acquires 1,809 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 927.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its price target on Applied Materials to $715 from $520 and kept an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in semiconductor capital equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also raised its price target on AMAT to $720 from $540 and reiterated a Buy rating, suggesting analysts see additional upside from AI-led chip demand. Applied Materials price target raised by Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a potential winner from growing semiconductor complexity and AI chip production, with some commentary arguing the stock may still be undervalued relative to long-term growth prospects. How Applied Materials Could Become the Next $1 Trillion Chip Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a transaction that may get attention but does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which is supportive for income-focused investors but not a major short-term catalyst. Applied Materials insider trades and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent articles noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which could limit near-term upside if AI spending expectations ease. Applied Materials Stock Looks Pricey—Can AI Demand Justify the Rally?

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. 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 research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.26.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $586.54 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $463.44 and its 200 day moving average is $372.78. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $641.18. The stock has a market cap of $465.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

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.