Kidder Stephen W Purchases 8,068 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kidder Stephen W raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 67.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,075 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,068 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.5% of Kidder Stephen W’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Kidder Stephen W’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during 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 period. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of AMAT opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $436.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $358.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. 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 $600.91.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty-seven research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Key Applied Materials News

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 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.