Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Buys Shares of 65,300 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 65,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,319,000. Applied Materials makes up about 3.1% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% 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. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $595.70 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $472.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $525.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $407.88. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials gained attention after reports of a 10-year AI packaging partnership with TSMC, reinforcing its role in the AI supply chain. Applied Materials (AMAT) Lands 10 Year TSMC AI Packaging Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain upbeat on AMAT’s AI demand outlook, with Bernstein rating the stock a Buy and Stifel-style bullish commentary saying the company should benefit from a long AI investment cycle. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets a Buy from Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was included in lists of AI beneficiaries poised to produce strong cash flow and capitalize on heavy semiconductor infrastructure spending. The AI Boom Isn’t Over: 3 Stocks to Buy for 2H 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines also noted Morgan Stanley kept an Equal Weight rating on AMAT, which is supportive but not a strong bullish signal. Morgan Stanley Maintains an “Equal Weight” Rating on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier trading saw AMAT fall with the broader chip sector after weakness in Asian semiconductor names and an oil-price spike pressured tech stocks. Intel, AMD, and Applied Materials Drop 4% as SK Hynix Rout and Oil Spike Hit Chip Stocks

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.