GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,017 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $668.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $530.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $468.89 and its 200 day moving average is $375.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $669.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. HSBC started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $770.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.65.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, including tools for higher-yield chip stacking and wafer metrology, strengthening its position in AI chip manufacturing. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary has turned more upbeat, with Wells Fargo raising its price target sharply and other coverage pointing to continued strength in semiconductor equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI-chip optimism also helped sentiment across the sector, with Micron-led strength reinforcing the idea that memory and chip-equipment names could benefit from the next leg of AI spending. Micron Sparks Fresh AI Stock Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful bearish positioning change, so this does not appear to be a driver of the stock move. Applied Materials stock information

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.