SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC Takes $838,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 1,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Stirlingshire Investments Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $916,000. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 60,850.1% during the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 233,439 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $59,991,000 after purchasing an additional 233,056 shares during the period. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 11.2%

AMAT stock opened at $552.64 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $557.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $422.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

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.