Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Boosted by Soltis Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Soltis Investment Advisors increased its Applied Materials position by 23% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 27,560 shares valued at approximately $14.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: 30 analysts rate the stock Buy and nine rate it Hold, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $632.70.
• Applied Materials recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annual yield.

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,560 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.6% of Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,512,287,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $710.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $632.70.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory shortage outlook supports equipment demand. SK Hynix’s expectation that the memory shortage could persist into 2030 suggests chipmakers may continue expanding and upgrading fabrication capacity. That outlook lifted Applied Materials and peers because the company supplies equipment used to build advanced memory and logic fabs. The rally may be tempered by industry supply bottlenecks and Applied Materials’ China exposure. Chip Equipment Stocks Rally as SK Hynix Signals Memory Shortage Into 2030
• Positive Sentiment: AI investment is broadening across the semiconductor ecosystem. Capital spending on AI infrastructure is increasing demand for chips, factories, manufacturing tools and process-control technologies. Applied Materials is viewed as a direct beneficiary of that spending, while industry research also points to opportunities in epitaxial wafers, automation and AI-based yield improvement. Top 3 AI Chip Stocks With P E Under 43
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and earnings expectations remain supportive. Recent coverage describes Wall Street analysts as optimistic, while analysts expect a robust double-digit earnings increase in the coming quarterly report as AI-driven chip demand continues. Applied Materials’ latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus revenue and earnings estimates, reinforcing the bullish narrative. Is Applied Materials a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor interest remains high, but the stock is volatile. Applied Materials was highlighted as a potential long-term market-beater, an undervalued AI leader and one of several stocks added to ETFs. Separate coverage noted that the company joined other issuers opposing tokenized versions of their shares under an SEC innovation framework. These developments increase visibility but do not immediately change operating results. Applied Materials: Top Quality And Undervalued AI Leader

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $421.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $334.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $459.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $443.21.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company's offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

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