Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New $31.62 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 61,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,618,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 1,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.3% during the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 974 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 997.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,509 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.0% during the third quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagace Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $466,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Argus set a $600.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Erste Group Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $457.66 and its 200 day moving average is $443.63.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.