Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 47.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Cora Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 4,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $725,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,135,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.
More Applied Materials News
- Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly called AMAT “a great buy,” drawing retail and momentum interest that can support the stock near-term. Jim Cramer on Applied Materials: “It’s Not a Good Buy, It’s a Great Buy”
- Positive Sentiment: Applied joined Tesla’s Terafab project — a potential source of future equipment orders if the project scales; this is speculative but a clear upside catalyst tied to AI/hyperscale manufacturing. Applied Materials Just Joined the Tesla Terafab Project. Does That Make AMAT Stock a Buy?
- Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry tailwinds: analysts and industry experts argue DRAM demand from AI will outpace capacity, which supports strong capital spending for equipment suppliers like Applied. That narrative boosts revenue upside expectations. ‘DRAM Will Double or Triple From Here’ as AI Demand Outpaces Supply Chain Capacity
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects double-digit EPS growth for AMAT’s fiscal Q2 and the company set its earnings date for May 14 — a near-term event that could move the stock if results/guidance beat or miss. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Q2 2026 Earnings Report
- Neutral Sentiment: Applied announced its fiscal Q2 2026 results call for May 14 (formal confirmation and webcast) — important for event-driven traders but neutral until results. Applied Materials to Report Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results on May 14, 2026
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail write-ups (InvestInsights, InsiderMonkey, Yahoo) publish bullish, valuation and thesis pieces — useful for framing long-term thesis but not immediate catalysts by themselves. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
- Neutral Sentiment: Applied and Advantest expanded integration on the EPIC platform to link fab and test flows — a strategic technical partnership that can improve time-to-market for complex chips but is more of a medium-term product/competitive positive. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched
- Negative Sentiment: Some coverage highlights that Applied’s valuation looks stretched at current levels; if results or guidance disappoint, the stock could see meaningful downside from profit-taking. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched
Applied Materials Trading Up 0.1%
Shares of AMAT stock opened at $403.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $365.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.72. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.71 and a fifty-two week high of $413.82.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AMAT
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.
See Also
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