Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE Buys New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $702,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 68.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho set a $370.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $341.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $344.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.16. The company has a market cap of $270.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to “Outperform” and raised its price target to $370 (from $275), citing a “significant acceleration” in wafer fab equipment demand — a direct near-term catalyst for order momentum and revenue visibility. AMAT stock: Mizuho sees ‘significant acceleration’ in WFE, upgrades rating
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc bumped its price target to $380 and Goldman Sachs lists AMAT among top semiconductor picks — reinforcing conviction across the sell side that Applied will benefit from rising deposition/etch intensity and diversified exposure across fabs. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains Analyst Support as Multi-Year Semiconductor Tailwinds Take Shape
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (Jim Cramer) is amplifying demand narratives — Cramer called AMAT a name with a shortage that “can’t be met,” which can drive retail/inflow interest and shorter-term multiple expansion. Applied Materials (AMAT) Has a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst pieces frame AMAT as a likely industry leader in 2026 (expectations of durable demand and margin leverage). That consensus bullishness supports higher forward multiples and investor appetite for shares. Analysts Expect Applied Materials Stock to Dominate in 2026. Should You Buy Shares Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note AMAT is rising while the broader market dips — useful context for relative strength but not a company-specific fundamental change. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed appear to be erroneous/zeroed — no actionable signal from the published short-interest item (treat as data noise until an official update).

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.