Independent Financial Group LLC Invests $3.87 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 18th, 2026

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,323 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,870,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand. Article link
Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $529.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $533.12 and its 200 day moving average is $413.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’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. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Company 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.