Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Boosted by Howard Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management increased its Applied Materials stake by 72.3% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 38,485 shares valued at approximately $19.68 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials shares fell 4.8% to $409.29, despite the company beating quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and reporting 24.8% year-over-year revenue growth. Sector concerns about the sustainability of AI-related semiconductor spending have weighed on the stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $632.70 target price, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, yielding approximately 0.5%.

Howard Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 72.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,144 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.9% during the third quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 508 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the third quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 441 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $492,000. Goldstein Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 50.8% during the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, ACT Advisors LLC. raised its position in Applied Materials by 15.1% in the third quarter. ACT Advisors LLC. now owns 404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $20.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $409.29. The company had a trading volume of 8,533,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,720,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $324.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $480.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.08.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock's Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.