Hendley & Co. Inc. Sells 4,244 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Hendley & Co. Inc. cut its Applied Materials stake by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,244 shares and leaving it with 26,847 shares worth about $6.9 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and raising guidance, with management citing robust AI infrastructure spending as a growth driver.
• Wall Street sentiment is bullish after the earnings beat, with several analysts lifting price targets and 27 analysts rating the stock a Buy versus seven Holds.

Hendley & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,847 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,244 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 2.4% of Hendley & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price objective for the company. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $463.89.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $379.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.47 and a twelve month high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 38.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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