Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Purchased by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 9th, 2026

Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 132,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 4.1% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $67,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bullock Wealth Management Group grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bullock Wealth Management Group now owns 2,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 2,500.5% in the third quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,229,000 after acquiring an additional 26,755 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 11.3% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 805 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 14,642 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,461,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 112.8% in the third quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 1,877 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced that UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering will join its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor research, process development and commercialization. The collaboration could strengthen the company’s technology pipeline and relationships with chip manufacturers. Applied Materials and UCLA Engineering Accelerate Semiconductor Innovation at the EPIC Center
Positive Sentiment: Strong planned capital spending by TSMC—potentially reaching $64 billion—supports the outlook for semiconductor manufacturing-equipment suppliers. An Applied Materials veteran suggested TSMC may still need to invest more to meet demand, which could create additional opportunities for AMAT. TSMC Plans Up to $64 Billion in Capex
Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary points to improving momentum in Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services business, supported by AI-enabled services, recurring revenue and sustained fabrication-facility demand through 2030. Recent comparisons also indicate AMAT’s revenue growth trajectory has strengthened relative to Qualcomm and Marvell Technology.
Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results provide fundamental support: earnings and revenue exceeded consensus estimates, while revenue increased 24.8% year over year. Management’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings guidance also implies continued growth.
Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage recommendations remain favorable, but the reports caution that average analyst ratings can be overly optimistic and should not be treated as a standalone buy signal. Brokers Suggest Investing in Applied Materials
Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest update reported zero shares sold short and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, although the wording describing a “significant increase” appears inconsistent with the reported figures. The data therefore offers little reliable directional information.
Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials underperformed the broader market in the latest session, falling about 2.1%. Reports also linked the weakness to insider selling, which can raise concerns about near-term sentiment even when it does not change the company’s fundamentals. Applied Materials Stock Falls After Insider Selling
Negative Sentiment: A member of Congress sold AMAT less than two months after purchasing it and missed a subsequent rally. While the transaction is not a fundamental development, the attention surrounding the sale may add to investor scrutiny. Congressman Sells Applied Materials Stock Before Recent Rally

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $850.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $507.03. The company had a trading volume of 3,338,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,867,691. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $402.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $488.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $481.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

(Free Report)

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.