Capelight Capital Asset Management LP Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Capelight Capital Asset Management LP initiated a new position in Applied Materials, acquiring 10,000 shares worth about $2.57 million in Q4, representing 2.1% of Capelight's portfolio and the firm's 13th largest holding.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, set Q2 FY2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 ($2.12 annualized), and has seen multiple analyst target upgrades leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" price target of $368.29.
• Insiders trimmed positions: the CFO sold 5,000 shares and the CAO sold 534 shares, with insiders selling a total of 12,003 shares worth $4.48 million in the last quarter (insiders own 0.30% of the company).

Capelight Capital Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,570,000. Applied Materials comprises 2.1% of Capelight Capital Asset Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,968 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,618,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. BCS Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 104.5% in the 4th quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 3,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the period. Atlas Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $2,933,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $395.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.80 and a fifty-two week high of $407.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Company 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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