Element Squared LLC Invests $2.14 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Element Squared LLC disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Applied Materials, buying 6,263 shares valued at about $2.14 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion, up 11.4% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with multiple analysts raising price targets and 27 analysts rating the stock a Buy; however, insiders have also been selling shares recently.

Element Squared LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 6,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,140,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $723.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $486.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $574.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Bank of America all turned more bullish on AMAT, with multiple price-target hikes and fresh upside calls ahead of earnings, reinforcing the view that demand for chip-making equipment remains strong. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: The stock has been one of the biggest winners in the semiconductor space, with June marking its best monthly rally since 1975 as AI infrastructure spending lifted estimates and investor sentiment. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials, signaling confidence that earnings growth can continue beyond the current year. Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ: AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note the stock is technically very extended and “overbought,” which suggests momentum is strong but also raises the risk of a near-term pullback after the huge run-up. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was also added to the Russell Top 50 Index, which can boost visibility and passive fund ownership, though the impact is more about flows than fundamentals. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.56.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 over the last 90 days. 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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