North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC Buys 3,600 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• North Berkeley Wealth Management boosted its Applied Materials stake by 219.1% in Q4, buying 3,600 additional shares and bringing its position to 5,243 shares valued at about $1.35 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion expected. Revenue rose 11.4% year over year, and the company issued Q3 2026 EPS guidance of $3.16 to $3.56.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, and analysts remain mostly bullish: 27 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings, with a consensus price target of $470.13.

North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 219.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,243 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $500.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $397.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.67. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $404.70 and its 200-day moving average is $339.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $508.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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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