NBH Bank Acquires Shares of 1,652 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

NBH Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,652 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,194,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $454.71 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $533.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $460.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.82 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles

About Applied Materials

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.