Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,286 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,866 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near‑term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy‑side conviction and can drive follow‑on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short‑term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of AMAT opened at $375.38 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $377.11. The firm has a market cap of $297.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $304.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s 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 research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was 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 owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,609 shares of company stock worth $2,914,628. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.