IFP Advisors Inc Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

IFP Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,612 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,987 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced a 15% increase to its quarterly dividend (to $0.53/share), with the next payment in June — a shareholder-friendly move that supports the stock after its strong run and signals confidence in cash flow. Applied Materials Raises Its Dividend 15%
• Positive Sentiment: Applied is listed in actively managed dividend and thematic ETFs that have seen large inflows, which can provide steady buying demand from fund flows. Active ETFs Surge Past Passive, and These Are in the Lead
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly review pieces position AMAT among semiconductor-equipment winners for the quarter — earnings beat and revenue roughly in line — but note mixed revenue trends across peers; these analyses help frame valuation expectations but don’t change near-term fundamentals. Winners And Losers Of Q4: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Vs The Rest Of The Semiconductor Manufacturing Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage of peers (e.g., Lam Research) highlights strong AI-driven capex but raises questions about sustainability — this is a sector-level readthrough that could influence investor sentiment for AMAT over 2026. Can Lam Research’s Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest notices for AMAT contain implausible/zero values (0 shares, NaN increases), indicating data reporting issues rather than a clear short-squeeze signal; treat short-interest readings with caution until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic volatility is weighing on market breadth: oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields spiking have helped push major indices below technical support, which typically pressures cyclicals and capex-exposed names like AMAT. Dow Jones Breaks As Oil Prices, Yields Soar, But Then Trump Mulls ‘Winding Down’ Iran War
• Negative Sentiment: Sector volatility shown by peers (e.g., Micron moving lower despite strong results) reflects investor caution in semiconductors — good company-specific news for AMAT may still be offset by risk-off flows. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $357.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $340.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $268.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $283.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

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.