Kelly Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record DRAM equipment revenue, introduced new tools for advanced nodes and the board approved a 15% quarterly dividend increase — fundamentals that support mid/long-term demand tied to AI chip buildouts. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.7% After Record DRAM Tools, Dividend Hike And AI Supply-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry commentary point to rising demand for HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and advanced packaging as potential accelerants for AMAT’s revenue growth tied to AI and high-performance compute. Can HBM and Packaging Demand Accelerate AMAT’s Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Improving wafer‑fab spending visibility and ongoing AI-driven chip demand have supported recent rallies and underpin medium-term order momentum. Applied Materials (AMAT) Surged on Improving Wafer-Fab Spending Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. industrial policy and large-scale supply-chain initiatives for semiconductors add another tailwind for equipment suppliers like AMAT. US Semiconductor Push Adds New Thread To Applied Materials Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Relative valuation and competitor positioning are under active debate (ASML vs AMAT); analysts still rate both highly but highlight different risk/reward profiles tied to technology moat and pricing. ASML vs. Applied Materials (AMAT): Which Chip Equipment Stock Offers Better Value in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/ETF flow commentary notes that tech earnings are improving but some ETFs (and share prices) lag underlying fundamentals — a signal that rotation or passive flows could mute upside. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group moved AMAT to a “hold” — a mild change in street positioning that may temper near-term momentum but is not a strong negative read. Zacks: Erste Group Bank AG Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Sector-wide weakness hit multiple chip-equipment and chipmaker names today, and AMAT’s share decline appears driven largely by that broad pullback and profit-taking after recent gains. Teradyne, Applied Materials, Intel, KLA Corporation, and Semtech shares plummet, what you need to know
• Negative Sentiment: Despite an earnings beat, AMAT’s revenue was slightly down year-over-year in the last quarter and the shares carry a premium multiple that can amplify downside during market rotations. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials (AMAT): Should You Buy?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $338.55 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $344.84 and a 200-day moving average of $273.99. 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 firm has a market cap of $268.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.