Blue Capital Inc. Makes New $2.78 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Blue Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.0% of Blue Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $446.42 and a 200-day moving average of $363.12. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $638.90. The stock has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.94, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure spending and memory-chip equipment demand should keep driving revenue growth. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ, a fully integrated visual system for AI smart glasses, and partnered with EssilorLuxottica and Qualcomm, giving investors a potential new long-term growth avenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Applied Materials as a beneficiary of the AI equipment super-cycle, with strong earnings, robust wafer-fab equipment demand, and favorable analyst sentiment supporting the rally. Applied Materials: The Cheapest Seat On The AI Equipment Super-Cycle

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.