Faithward Advisors LLC Invests $331,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Faithward Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brave Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Berman McAleer LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $403,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Cache Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $4,654,000. Finally, Legacy Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $205,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its price target on Applied Materials to $715 from $520 and kept an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in semiconductor capital equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also raised its price target on AMAT to $720 from $540 and reiterated a Buy rating, suggesting analysts see additional upside from AI-led chip demand. Applied Materials price target raised by Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a potential winner from growing semiconductor complexity and AI chip production, with some commentary arguing the stock may still be undervalued relative to long-term growth prospects. How Applied Materials Could Become the Next $1 Trillion Chip Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a transaction that may get attention but does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which is supportive for income-focused investors but not a major short-term catalyst. Applied Materials insider trades and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent articles noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which could limit near-term upside if AI spending expectations ease. Applied Materials Stock Looks Pricey—Can AI Demand Justify the Rally?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.26.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AMAT opened at $586.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $465.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.07, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $641.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 is presently 19.91%.

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.