Westerkirk Capital Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Westerkirk Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,400 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.9% of Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 8.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $492.17 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $412.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $510.75. The firm has a market cap of $390.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks recovered after a prior-day selloff, lifting Applied Materials along with peers such as KLA as investors bought the dip in the chip equipment group.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street continues to view Applied Materials as a beneficiary of AI-driven spending on logic, DRAM, and advanced packaging, keeping bullish sentiment elevated around the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary from analysts has been supportive, with some firms maintaining buy or overweight ratings and others raising price targets, reinforcing expectations for further upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles this week focused on valuation and whether the stock is still attractive after a large year-to-date run, highlighting that expectations are already high after the recent rally.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials’ strong recent earnings and upbeat guidance remain part of the backdrop, but there was no new earnings release in the latest headlines to explain the day’s move.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including a reported CFO sale, may modestly temper investor enthusiasm even though it does not appear to be the main driver of today’s trading.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.13.

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.