Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 198.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,972 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake 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 worth $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $602.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $517.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $403.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials 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.