Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $403.91 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.72. The stock has a market cap of $320.55 billion, a PE ratio of 41.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.71 and a fifty-two week high of $413.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer publicly called AMAT “a great buy,” drawing retail and momentum interest that can support the stock near-term. Jim Cramer on Applied Materials: “It’s Not a Good Buy, It’s a Great Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: Applied joined Tesla’s Terafab project — a potential source of future equipment orders if the project scales; this is speculative but a clear upside catalyst tied to AI/hyperscale manufacturing. Applied Materials Just Joined the Tesla Terafab Project. Does That Make AMAT Stock a Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry tailwinds: analysts and industry experts argue DRAM demand from AI will outpace capacity, which supports strong capital spending for equipment suppliers like Applied. That narrative boosts revenue upside expectations. ‘DRAM Will Double or Triple From Here’ as AI Demand Outpaces Supply Chain Capacity
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects double-digit EPS growth for AMAT’s fiscal Q2 and the company set its earnings date for May 14 — a near-term event that could move the stock if results/guidance beat or miss. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied announced its fiscal Q2 2026 results call for May 14 (formal confirmation and webcast) — important for event-driven traders but neutral until results. Applied Materials to Report Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results on May 14, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and retail write-ups (InvestInsights, InsiderMonkey, Yahoo) publish bullish, valuation and thesis pieces — useful for framing long-term thesis but not immediate catalysts by themselves. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied and Advantest expanded integration on the EPIC platform to link fab and test flows — a strategic technical partnership that can improve time-to-market for complex chips but is more of a medium-term product/competitive positive. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage highlights that Applied’s valuation looks stretched at current levels; if results or guidance disappoint, the stock could see meaningful downside from profit-taking. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched

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.