Everhart Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,461 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,720 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.1% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,754 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $357.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $283.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $340.63 and its 200 day moving average is $268.38.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced a 15% increase to its quarterly dividend (to $0.53/share), with the next payment in June — a shareholder-friendly move that supports the stock after its strong run and signals confidence in cash flow. Applied Materials Raises Its Dividend 15%
• Positive Sentiment: Applied is listed in actively managed dividend and thematic ETFs that have seen large inflows, which can provide steady buying demand from fund flows. Active ETFs Surge Past Passive, and These Are in the Lead
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly review pieces position AMAT among semiconductor-equipment winners for the quarter — earnings beat and revenue roughly in line — but note mixed revenue trends across peers; these analyses help frame valuation expectations but don’t change near-term fundamentals. Winners And Losers Of Q4: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Vs The Rest Of The Semiconductor Manufacturing Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage of peers (e.g., Lam Research) highlights strong AI-driven capex but raises questions about sustainability — this is a sector-level readthrough that could influence investor sentiment for AMAT over 2026. Can Lam Research’s Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest notices for AMAT contain implausible/zero values (0 shares, NaN increases), indicating data reporting issues rather than a clear short-squeeze signal; treat short-interest readings with caution until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic volatility is weighing on market breadth: oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields spiking have helped push major indices below technical support, which typically pressures cyclicals and capex-exposed names like AMAT. Dow Jones Breaks As Oil Prices, Yields Soar, But Then Trump Mulls ‘Winding Down’ Iran War
• Negative Sentiment: Sector volatility shown by peers (e.g., Micron moving lower despite strong results) reflects investor caution in semiconductors — good company-specific news for AMAT may still be offset by risk-off flows. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings

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.