241,718 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Acquired by Castle Hook Partners LP

Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 241,718 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,119,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.3%

AMAT opened at $592.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $623.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $441.16 and its 200 day moving average is $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $470.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter 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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It’s AI.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.