Ruggaard & Associates LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jun 19th, 2026

Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 873 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $890,000. Van Diest Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $974,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 10,757 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,764,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Rare Wolf Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 237.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,112,249 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $285,837,000 after buying an additional 783,040 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $617.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $446.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $638.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure spending and memory-chip equipment demand should keep driving revenue growth. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ, a fully integrated visual system for AI smart glasses, and partnered with EssilorLuxottica and Qualcomm, giving investors a potential new long-term growth avenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Applied Materials as a beneficiary of the AI equipment super-cycle, with strong earnings, robust wafer-fab equipment demand, and favorable analyst sentiment supporting the rally. Applied Materials: The Cheapest Seat On The AI Equipment Super-Cycle

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Profile

(Free Report)

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.