Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV Acquires New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,123 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $529.66 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $533.12 and a 200-day moving average of $414.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by 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.