2,442 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Purchased by USA Financial Formulas

USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,442 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000. Applied Materials makes up 0.2% of USA Financial Formulas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. New Street Research lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Argus set a $600.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $409.29 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $480.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $485.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock’s Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.