Ibex Wealth Advisors Buys New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Ibex Wealth Advisors opened a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter, buying 2,871 shares valued at about $981,000.
• Applied Materials is drawing bullish attention from analysts and investors, with several firms raising price targets and the stock benefiting from renewed optimism around AI-driven semiconductor spending.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and issued upbeat guidance, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,871 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said Applied Materials has “tremendous visibility” into demand, suggesting chipmakers are planning further ahead than usual and that AI-related capital spending could stay strong for years. Applied Materials CEO Sees 'Tremendous Visibility' Into Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta Platforms plans to begin making its own AI chip lifted the broader semiconductor group, helping Applied Materials as investors bet on more wafer-fabrication equipment demand. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted a rebound in AMAT as AI spending expectations improved and semiconductor equipment names drew renewed investor interest. Applied Materials (AMAT) Rebounds On AI Demand Outlook As Fair Value Debate Returns
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also benefits from growing demand in advanced packaging, with management targeting more than 50% packaging revenue growth in 2026 as AI drives HBM and chiplet-stacking adoption. Can AMAT's Advanced Packaging Drive Its Next Growth Phase?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent commentary argues AMAT may be late to the AI trade and that valuation has already run up, which could limit further upside if expectations cool. Applied Materials: You're Late To The AI Party
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target on Applied Materials, reinforcing a constructive but still analyst-dependent outlook. Susquehanna Raises Price Target on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $578.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following 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. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $588.66 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $513.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $400.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $467.37 billion, a PE ratio of 55.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

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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