Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management boosted its Applied Materials stake by 380.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.52 million shares worth about $648.2 million.
• Applied Materials beat fiscal Q2 expectations, reporting EPS of $2.86 on revenue of $7.91 billion, while also issuing upbeat Q3 guidance and citing strong AI-related demand.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, even as insiders recently sold shares and several analysts lifted price targets after the earnings report.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 380.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,522,321 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,997,166 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.32% of Applied Materials worth $648,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $436.62 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $448.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $379.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for 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 38.48%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $454.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $463.89.

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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