LOM Asset Management Ltd Acquires 2,431 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LOM Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,431 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.5% of LOM Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. LOM Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technical breakout — AMAT recently moved above its 20‑day moving average, signaling short‑term bullish momentum for traders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Strong recent performance — AMAT has climbed ~33.4% over three months, reflecting improving chip equipment demand (logic, DRAM, HBM) that supports revenue outlooks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Solid fundamentals — Last quarter AMAT beat EPS estimates and reiterated strong mid‑term guidance (Q2 FY2026 EPS guide 2.440–2.840), supporting the view that equipment demand is recovering. (Background company filings and earnings release)
• Positive Sentiment: AI/data‑center tailwind highlighted — Market commentary on the $650B+ AI capex wave points to sustained demand for chipmaking tools; AMAT is specifically cited as a beneficiary in broad semiconductor ETF coverage. This is a structural growth tailwind for equipment makers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New coverage — Erste Group initiated coverage with a “hold” rating, which is neither bullish nor bearish but may dampen near‑term momentum from institutional readers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparator analysis — A head‑to‑head piece comparing AMAT with smaller peers provides context but is unlikely to move the stock materially. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Odd short‑interest report — Recent short‑interest entries show “0 shares” and NaN changes, likely a data/reporting error; investors should treat that dataset cautiously until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Intraday pullback/volume — Despite the bullish technicals and sector tailwinds, AMAT is retreating on the session with below‑average volume, suggesting profit‑taking after the recent run may be weighing on the stock price today.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $346.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $275.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $325.05 and its 200 day moving average is $254.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

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.