Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Hilton Head Capital Partners boosted its Applied Materials stake by 927.7% in the first quarter, ending with 2,004 shares worth about $685,000. Other institutional investors also increased positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials’ executives have been selling shares, including CEO Gary E. Dickerson and SVP Timothy M. Deane, with insider sales totaling 199,767 shares worth about $114.1 million over the last 90 days. Insiders own just 0.30% of the stock.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: Wells Fargo and Citigroup both raised price targets sharply, while the stock also posted a solid quarter with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 927.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,809 shares during the quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 12,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,191,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $34,938,000. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 124.3% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,115,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.26.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $586.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $641.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $463.44 and its 200 day moving average is $372.78.

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. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its price target on Applied Materials to $715 from $520 and kept an Overweight rating, citing continued strength in semiconductor capital equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also raised its price target on AMAT to $720 from $540 and reiterated a Buy rating, suggesting analysts see additional upside from AI-led chip demand. Applied Materials price target raised by Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a potential winner from growing semiconductor complexity and AI chip production, with some commentary arguing the stock may still be undervalued relative to long-term growth prospects. How Applied Materials Could Become the Next $1 Trillion Chip Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a transaction that may get attention but does not necessarily signal a change in the company’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, which is supportive for income-focused investors but not a major short-term catalyst. Applied Materials insider trades and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent articles noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which could limit near-term upside if AI spending expectations ease. Applied Materials Stock Looks Pricey—Can AI Demand Justify the Rally?

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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