Providence First Trust Co Purchases New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $867,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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 stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials 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. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.51 and a 52 week high of $420.50. The firm has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $369.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.86.

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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