Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Elefante Mark B

Elefante Mark B increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 58.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,498 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.5% of Elefante Mark B’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Elefante Mark B’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement with EssilorLuxottica to co-develop AR and AI-powered smart eyewear optics, opening a new growth angle beyond its core semiconductor equipment business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a development aimed at boosting performance and yield for AI chips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Singapore, signaling continued investment to expand capacity and support demand tied to AI-driven semiconductor equipment growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price targets on AMAT, reinforcing bullish sentiment around wafer fab equipment spending and the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which may limit upside even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT slipped despite the EssilorLuxottica deal, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer near-term financial impact from the partnership. Article Title

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $600.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $436.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $358.14. The firm has a market cap of $451.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.35, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.