Zhang Financial LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,939 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,543 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 105.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 318 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,112 shares of company stock worth $3,660,532 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $420.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.04.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $377.93 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $380.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $299.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $309.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $246.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.