Prospera Financial Services Inc Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,189 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,935 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ new collaboration with Broadcom boosts its AI packaging story and highlights its importance in next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains constructive, with traders noting strong semiconductor sector momentum, improving technicals, and continued AI infrastructure demand supporting AMAT. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Opinions on Semiconductor Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still appears bullish on AMAT, with multiple recent buy/overweight ratings and price targets clustered well above current levels, reinforcing the stock’s longer-term upside case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader coverage continues to frame Applied Materials as a key beneficiary of AI and advanced packaging trends, but some of the related articles are commentary rather than new company-specific developments. Applied Materials (AMAT): “The Arms Dealer of the Semiconductor Revolution”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also highlighted the stock’s strong multi-year performance and its role among semiconductor equipment peers, which may support investor attention but do not add a major new catalyst. Here’s How Much You’d Have If You Invested $1000 in Applied Materials a Decade Ago
• Negative Sentiment: One potential overhang is continued insider selling over the past six months, which can sometimes weigh on sentiment even when fundamentals remain strong.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $465.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $432.16 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $387.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.06. The stock has a market cap of $342.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $448.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.