Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Elevated Capital Advisors LLC

Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,482 shares during the quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials News Summary

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 Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $396.94 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.80 and a twelve 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 fifty day simple moving average of $359.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.