Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,849 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New tools for next‑gen chips: AMAT unveiled the Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD systems aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips — this strengthens its content per chip and positions it to capture AI/HPC node transitions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large customer for fabs: Bloomberg/press reports say Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted AMAT (among others) for equipment quotes — if that project proceeds it could add meaningful new demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: B. Riley raised its price target on AMAT to $485 (Buy), reflecting a multi‑year AI-related outlook upgrade that supports higher valuations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals: peers TSMC and (expected) Lam Research results point to strong AI/HPC and DRAM spending, which is supportive for AMAT as an equipment supplier. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum & coverage: multiple Zacks pieces note heavy investor interest and recent strong short‑term performance (momentum), which can amplify moves but may also lead to volatile reversals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation pressure: relative comparisons (NVDA vs AMAT) and broader peer valuations (ASML/US peers) highlight that investors may prefer higher‑growth alternatives like NVIDIA, which could limit further multiple expansion for AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term softness in revenue: most recent quarter showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline (about -2.1%), so while earnings beat and guidance were constructive, demand remains lumpy and could lead to volatility if orders don’t accelerate.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8%

AMAT stock opened at $396.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $359.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.80 and a 12 month high of $407.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. KGI Securities raised shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

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.