Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 17,280 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors acquired a new stake of 17,280 Applied Materials shares (≈$3.60M), representing 2.1% of its portfolio and the firm’s 13th-largest position.
• Applied Materials posted a quarterly EPS beat ($2.38 vs. $2.21 consensus) with $7.01B revenue, set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.440–2.840 EPS, and the board approved a 15% dividend increase to $0.53 per quarter while the stock is being added to the S&P 100, supporting institutional and analyst buying interest.
• Insider selling totaled 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) last quarter (insiders own 0.30%) while institutional investors hold 80.56% of the stock, a dynamic that could weigh on sentiment if selling persists despite bullish analyst upgrades and elevated price targets.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,602,000. Applied Materials accounts for 2.1% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $341.53 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $334.48 and a 200-day moving average of $261.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials 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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