McGuire Investment Group LLC Sells 5,776 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• McGuire Investment Group LLC trimmed its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in Q4, selling 5,776 shares and now holds 117,997 shares valued at $30.324 million, making AMAT its 8th largest holding (3.2% of the portfolio).
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21; revenue $7.01B), set Q2 FY2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $368.29, while several firms have raised targets up to $450.00.

McGuire Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,776 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 3.2% of McGuire Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. McGuire Investment Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $395.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $354.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $132.80 and a 12-month high of $407.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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