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

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,082,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,744,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 183.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Argus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $476.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $378.29 billion, a PE ratio of 44.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $547.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $426.93.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

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.