Citizens Business Bank Takes $1.17 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Citizens Business Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,623 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.17.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $507.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $564.15 and a 200 day moving average of $444.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 39.58%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.