Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,528 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,394 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,528 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

AMAT stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $448.45. The stock has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $379.09 and its 200 day moving average is $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Applied Materials Company 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.