Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake by 75.4%, selling 53,302 Applied Materials shares in Q4 and retaining 17,388 shares valued at about $4.47 million per its SEC filing.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B), raised the quarterly dividend to $0.53, issued Q2 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and is seeing bullish analyst upgrades and demand catalysts from new deposition systems for 2nm/GAA chips that have helped lift the stock.

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 53,302 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $397.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.80 and a 1 year high of $398.74. The company has a market capitalization of $315.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $350.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $286.59.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied unveiled new deposition systems aimed at the "angstrom era" (2nm/GAA) that are already being used by leading foundry/logic customers — a direct revenue catalyst because these tools address demand for advanced AI chips and node transitions. Applied Materials Introduces Deposition Systems for Angstrom‑Era Logic Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and headlines across financial sites report the new tools as a major product win, helping the stock rally as investors anticipate larger orders and aftermarket revenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 9.0% After Launching 2nm GAA Deposition Tools For AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Susquehanna raised its price target to $500 and kept a "positive" rating, providing a large upside signal that supports momentum buying. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs included AMAT among top semiconductor picks, adding institutional credibility to the buy case amid improving valuations in the sector. Goldman Sachs Names Teradyne (TER), Applied Materials (AMAT), AMD (AMD) as Top Semiconductor Picks
• Positive Sentiment: Independent commentary frames recent memory/semiconductor selloffs (Micron, WDC, AMAT) as a buying opportunity driven by strong AI demand — a sentiment that can attract value/momentum buyers. Memory Wipe: The Great TurboQuant Miscalculation (AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro and market context: easing geopolitical tensions and positive market breadth are supporting semiconductor names broadly, which helps AMAT alongside company‑specific news. Dow Jones Futures Fall, Oil Prices Rise After Iran Ceasefire Rally...
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/watchers: some writeups question whether the recent run (strong YTD and 1‑year performance) leaves less margin for error — keep an eye on execution and order flow to validate the rally. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After 177% One Year Surge?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.04.

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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