Highland Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 195.5% in Q4, adding 7,923 shares to reach 11,976 shares worth about $3.08 million.
• Wall Street is broadly upbeat—several firms (Seaport, Deutsche Bank, Stifel, RBC) have Buy ratings with targets between roughly $430–$500, and MarketBeat’s consensus target is $370.86 (average rating: Moderate Buy).
• Operational momentum: AMAT beat Q1 estimates (EPS $2.38 vs $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs $6.88B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53, gave Q2 EPS guidance of 2.440–2.840, and agreed to acquire NEXX to expand its advanced‑packaging capabilities.

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 195.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,976 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.51 and a 1 year high of $420.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $369.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $308.46. The firm has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company 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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