4,612 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Acquired by Abacus Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Abacus Wealth Partners LLC initiated a new stake in Applied Materials, buying 4,612 shares worth about $1.185 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in AMAT remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 80.56% of the company; several large firms also significantly increased their holdings.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue, raised guidance, and boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Abacus Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,612 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,185,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley Financial lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, 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 value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $448.45. The company has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $379.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost 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%.

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.

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