Diversified Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Diversified Management Inc. purchased a new stake of 2,875 shares (~$739,000) in Applied Materials in Q4, and institutional investors now own about 80.56% of the company's stock.
• Applied Materials beat Q4 estimates with EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21 and revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B, issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and saw multiple analyst price-target increases with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~0.5% yield), while insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) over the past three months.

Diversified Management Inc. purchased 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 Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3%

AMAT opened at $394.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $312.89 billion, a PE ratio of 40.35, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $356.68 and a 200-day moving average of $292.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.80 and a 52 week high of $407.29.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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