Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Invests $1.87 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,537,913,000 after buying an additional 2,635,284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.8%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $476.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $378.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $547.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has benefited from AI-driven spending on advanced wafer fabrication and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A Columbia Threadneedle investor letter highlighted the company’s exposure to long-term AI infrastructure growth. Applied Materials Rose on AI-Driven Wafer Fabrication Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to see potential for Applied Materials to outperform upcoming earnings expectations, supported by demand from AI, cloud computing, memory and storage customers. The company also recently exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and earnings, with revenue growth accelerating year over year.
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street analysts have issued upgrades, while investors point to strong memory-chip demand as a potential catalyst. However, the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations. Applied Materials Stock Keeps Winning Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was identified as one of several semiconductor companies with a positive earnings-prediction signal ahead of its quarterly report, but the forecast is not a guarantee of results. 3 Semiconductor Stocks Likely to Outpace Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The broader AI-chip group has extended its selloff as investors question whether current AI infrastructure spending can be funded at its current pace. Applied Materials is being pulled lower alongside Nvidia, AMD and other semiconductor stocks. AI Chip Stocks Tumble as Nvidia, AMD Lead Market Selloff Over Spending Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that China is mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment raise concerns that local alternatives could reduce demand for U.S. chip-equipment suppliers. Export controls and geopolitical restrictions could further limit Applied Materials’ access to Chinese customers. How China’s Domestic Immersion DUV Push Has Changed Applied Materials’ Investment Story

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.19.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 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.