Nuveen LLC Purchases 672,992 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,674,424 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 672,992 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.5% of Nuveen LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Nuveen LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,972,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 11.2%

AMAT opened at $552.64 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $557.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $351.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

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.