GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

20 Mar 2026, 10:00 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,731 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $357.44 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $339.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $267.01. The stock has a market cap of $283.67 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business’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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: Applied raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, marking a continuation of multi‑year dividend growth and signaling confidence in cash flow and the AI/memory tool cycle. This directly supports shareholder returns and boosts investor sentiment. Applied Materials Lifts Dividend As AI Investment And Cash Returns Converge
Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: recent quarterly beats and company guidance (Q2 FY26 EPS range) reinforce expectations that AMAT will benefit from AI-driven capital expenditure across logic and memory chipmakers. This is a core reason investors are bidding the stock higher. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)
Positive Sentiment: Sector peers (e.g., Lam Research) are reporting rising systems revenue and benefiting from the AI capex cycle; that peer strength supports the thesis that equipment suppliers like AMAT can sustain higher order activity into 2026. Can Lam Research’s Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term tooling developments (ASML High‑NA EUV adoption by imec) underpin next‑generation chip roadmaps, which is positive for equipment demand but is a multi‑year story rather than an immediate catalyst for AMAT. Belgium’s imec secures rare ASML High NA EUV tool
Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data for AMAT in mid‑March shows anomalous zero/NaN figures across filings, making it unreliable as a directional signal right now. Investors should treat those prints with caution. (internal reporting)
Neutral Sentiment: Broader market moves — including commodity swings and mixed reactions to semiconductor earnings (e.g., Micron) — add macro volatility that can blunt sector rallies even when company‑specific news is positive. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings
Negative Sentiment: AMAT has run up substantially over recent months (large percentage gains), raising the risk of a near‑term pullback or profit‑taking; valuation metrics (higher P/E) mean the stock is more sensitive to any slowdown in capex or weaker guidance. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)

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.