Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Axxcess Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 75.4% in the fourth quarter, lifting holdings to 55,232 shares valued at about $14.2 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $7.91 billion topping expectations; it also issued Q3 2026 guidance of $3.16 to $3.56 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, while analysts remain generally positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $465.14.

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 75.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,744 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $432.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $448.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $387.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.06.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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