Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $380,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 358,395 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $92,211,000 after acquiring an additional 29,186 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $521,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,444,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $629,125,000 after purchasing an additional 157,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worthington Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $894,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $489.16.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AGS services business is being highlighted as a long-term growth engine, with AI-enabled services and expanding margins potentially creating more recurring revenue. Can AMAT’s AGS Business Become a Long-Term Growth Driver?
• Positive Sentiment: Shares are benefiting from renewed enthusiasm around AI demand and strong earnings momentum, with articles noting the stock has been hitting new highs after solid results and upbeat guidance. AI Demand, Earnings Send Applied Materials to New Highs
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ with Qualcomm and EssilorLuxottica for AI eyewear, reinforcing investor hopes that the company can expand beyond core chipmaking tools into adjacent growth markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with higher price targets such as Citi’s $710 view helping fuel the rally by suggesting AI demand can justify the premium valuation. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Rallies 8.75% on Citi’s Bullish $710 Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including CEO Gary Dickerson and SVP Omkaram Nalamasu, sold shares this week; while the sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, they can weigh on sentiment. Why Applied Materials Insiders Sold $65 Million Worth of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary warns the stock looks expensive after a sharp year-to-date surge, with valuation comparisons to the dot-com era potentially prompting caution despite the strong fundamental backdrop. Applied Materials stock valuation and performance

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $617.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $364.90. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $638.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s 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.