Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,668 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 0.9% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AMAT opened at $507.03 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $402.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.71, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $488.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 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, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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.