Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $2.83 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,788 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 6.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $322.51 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $288.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $344.60. The stock has a market cap of $255.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $250.00 to $360.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

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.