Wealth Science Advisors LLC Makes New $725,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Wealth Science Advisors bought a new stake of 2,822 shares in Applied Materials worth about $725,000, making AMAT 0.4% of the firm's holdings and its 27th-largest position.
• Near-term catalysts include Jim Cramer calling AMAT "a great buy," Applied joining Tesla's Terafab project, and Street expectations for double-digit EPS growth with fiscal Q2 results scheduled for May 14.
• Fundamentals and investor activity: Applied has a market cap of about $320.6B and a PE of ~41, recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, 0.5% yield), while institutional ownership is ~80.6% and insiders have sold shares recently.

Wealth Science Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $725,000. Applied Materials comprises 0.4% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,135,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,798 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $258,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 1,717 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly called AMAT "a great buy," drawing retail and momentum interest that can support the stock near-term. Jim Cramer on Applied Materials: “It’s Not a Good Buy, It’s a Great Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: Applied joined Tesla's Terafab project — a potential source of future equipment orders if the project scales; this is speculative but a clear upside catalyst tied to AI/hyperscale manufacturing. Applied Materials Just Joined the Tesla Terafab Project. Does That Make AMAT Stock a Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry tailwinds: analysts and industry experts argue DRAM demand from AI will outpace capacity, which supports strong capital spending for equipment suppliers like Applied. That narrative boosts revenue upside expectations. ‘DRAM Will Double or Triple From Here' as AI Demand Outpaces Supply Chain Capacity
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects double-digit EPS growth for AMAT’s fiscal Q2 and the company set its earnings date for May 14 — a near-term event that could move the stock if results/guidance beat or miss. What to Expect From Applied Materials' Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied announced its fiscal Q2 2026 results call for May 14 (formal confirmation and webcast) — important for event-driven traders but neutral until results. Applied Materials to Report Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results on May 14, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail write-ups (InvestInsights, InsiderMonkey, Yahoo) publish bullish, valuation and thesis pieces — useful for framing long-term thesis but not immediate catalysts by themselves. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied and Advantest expanded integration on the EPIC platform to link fab and test flows — a strategic technical partnership that can improve time-to-market for complex chips but is more of a medium-term product/competitive positive. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage highlights that Applied’s valuation looks stretched at current levels; if results or guidance disappoint, the stock could see meaningful downside from profit-taking. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

AMAT opened at $403.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $320.55 billion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $365.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.72. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.71 and a 52 week high of $413.82. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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