HB Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management increased its Applied Materials stake by 6% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 39,072 shares valued at approximately $28.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $658.45. Recent targets ranged as high as $900, supported by expectations for AI-related semiconductor equipment demand.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, up 24.8% year over year. However, insiders sold roughly $146.1 million of stock over the past three months, while valuation and potential semiconductor-cycle risks remain concerns.

HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,228 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus set a $600.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $658.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $454.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $360.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.82 and a one year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $533.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

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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