Marshall Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,072,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $357.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $283.37 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $340.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

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.