WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,212 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management initiated a new position in Applied Materials, buying 4,212 shares worth about $1.08 million in the fourth quarter.
• Applied Materials delivered a strong earnings report, with Q2 EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both ahead of expectations, and it raised its Q3 guidance.
• Analysts turned more bullish after the results, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,082,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake 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 period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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)

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $436.62 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.47 and a 12 month high of $448.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $379.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $320.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $463.89.

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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