GK Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,125 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

GK Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 275.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,533 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 132,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,575,000 after buying an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 2,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2,500.5% in the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,229,000 after acquiring an additional 26,755 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.3% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.1% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 14,642 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $2.54 on Friday, hitting $507.03. 3,338,899 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,867,691. The stock has a market cap of $402.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $488.88 and a 200-day moving average of $481.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore increased their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.20.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced that UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering will join its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor research, process development and commercialization. The collaboration could strengthen the company’s technology pipeline and relationships with chip manufacturers. Applied Materials and UCLA Engineering Accelerate Semiconductor Innovation at the EPIC Center
• Positive Sentiment: Strong planned capital spending by TSMC—potentially reaching $64 billion—supports the outlook for semiconductor manufacturing-equipment suppliers. An Applied Materials veteran suggested TSMC may still need to invest more to meet demand, which could create additional opportunities for AMAT. TSMC Plans Up to $64 Billion in Capex
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary points to improving momentum in Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services business, supported by AI-enabled services, recurring revenue and sustained fabrication-facility demand through 2030. Recent comparisons also indicate AMAT’s revenue growth trajectory has strengthened relative to Qualcomm and Marvell Technology.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results provide fundamental support: earnings and revenue exceeded consensus estimates, while revenue increased 24.8% year over year. Management’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings guidance also implies continued growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage recommendations remain favorable, but the reports caution that average analyst ratings can be overly optimistic and should not be treated as a standalone buy signal. Brokers Suggest Investing in Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest update reported zero shares sold short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, although the wording describing a “significant increase” appears inconsistent with the reported figures. The data therefore offers little reliable directional information.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials underperformed the broader market in the latest session, falling about 2.1%. Reports also linked the weakness to insider selling, which can raise concerns about near-term sentiment even when it does not change the company’s fundamentals. Applied Materials Stock Falls After Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: A member of Congress sold AMAT less than two months after purchasing it and missed a subsequent rally. While the transaction is not a fundamental development, the attention surrounding the sale may add to investor scrutiny. Congressman Sells Applied Materials Stock Before Recent Rally

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.