Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Lowered by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Key Points

• Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its Applied Materials stake by 2.6%, selling 6,400 shares and retaining 241,627 shares valued at approximately $123.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of AMAT.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 30 Buy ratings and nine Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $632.70.
• Applied Materials recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Grandfield & Dodd LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,627 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 6.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $123,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 1,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.3% in the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 974 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 997.1% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,509 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,306,000 after buying an additional 4,098 shares during the period. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.0% in the third quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Sagace Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $466,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Argus set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $632.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $457.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

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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