Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Invests $589,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $589,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials 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 in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Breakthrough tool launch — Applied announced new 2nm GAA deposition tools and broader chipmaking systems aimed at next‑gen AI logic chips; market reacted strongly to the product cycle and AI demand implications. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Price target and ratings lift — Susquehanna raised its AMAT price target to $500 and moved to a positive rating, and other brokers have reiterated buys or a “moderate buy” consensus, providing analyst‑driven upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage confirmations — Bernstein reaffirmed a buy and coverage summaries show an overall constructive analyst stance, supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DRAM business gains traction — Coverage notes strong DRAM demand driven by AI and key partnerships, but cautions that rising competition could limit the durability of the surge. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data flagged but appears to be a data anomaly — a report showed a jump in “short interest” figures that resolve to zero shares (NaN/inconsistent), so no clear bearish signal from shorts. (data entry 4/10)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — broader market moves (e.g., macro headlines and risk‑on sentiment) have amplified momentum in semiconductors; useful but not AMAT‑specific. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.04.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $399.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $316.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $351.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.80 and a 52 week high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.70%.

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.