GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• GHP Investment Advisors increased its Applied Materials stake by 5.6% in the first quarter, ending with 37,772 shares valued at about $12.9 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 versus estimates of $2.68 and revenue of $7.91 billion, up 11.4% year over year. The company also guided Q3 2026 EPS to a range of $3.16 to $3.56.
• The stock has rallied sharply, with shares opening at $668 and trading up 13.4%, while analysts remain broadly positive with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $509.65.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Falcon Wealth Planning grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 3,841 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $31,616,000. Parkway Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $176,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 13.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $668.00 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $669.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $468.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $530.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.72, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, including tools for higher-yield chip stacking and wafer metrology, strengthening its position in AI chip manufacturing. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary has turned more upbeat, with Wells Fargo raising its price target sharply and other coverage pointing to continued strength in semiconductor equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI-chip optimism also helped sentiment across the sector, with Micron-led strength reinforcing the idea that memory and chip-equipment names could benefit from the next leg of AI spending. Micron Sparks Fresh AI Stock Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful bearish positioning change, so this does not appear to be a driver of the stock move. Applied Materials stock information

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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