Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 6,278 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel sold 6,278 shares of Applied Materials, a 3.1% reduction leaving 194,445 shares valued at about $49.97 million, representing roughly 0.9% of the fund's portfolio.
• Near‑term bullish catalysts include the launch of 2nm GAA deposition tools for next‑gen AI chips and analyst upgrades (Susquehanna raised its price target to $500), supporting a "Moderate Buy" consensus.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.38 vs. $2.21), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53, but insiders have sold shares recently and institutional ownership stands at about 80.6%.

Carnegie Investment Counsel decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 194,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,278 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.9% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $49,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Breakthrough tool launch — Applied announced new 2nm GAA deposition tools and broader chipmaking systems aimed at next‑gen AI logic chips; market reacted strongly to the product cycle and AI demand implications. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Price target and ratings lift — Susquehanna raised its AMAT price target to $500 and moved to a positive rating, and other brokers have reiterated buys or a “moderate buy” consensus, providing analyst‑driven upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage confirmations — Bernstein reaffirmed a buy and coverage summaries show an overall constructive analyst stance, supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DRAM business gains traction — Coverage notes strong DRAM demand driven by AI and key partnerships, but cautions that rising competition could limit the durability of the surge. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data flagged but appears to be a data anomaly — a report showed a jump in “short interest” figures that resolve to zero shares (NaN/inconsistent), so no clear bearish signal from shorts. (data entry 4/10)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — broader market moves (e.g., macro headlines and risk‑on sentiment) have amplified momentum in semiconductors; useful but not AMAT‑specific. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $399.20 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $351.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $316.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.80 and a twelve month high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company 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%.Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. Company 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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