AMAT
A bigger bet on the chip gear giant
Assetmark Inc. decided Applied Materials still deserves a bigger seat at the table. The firm added 32,136 shares, lifting its stake by 9.3% to 376,513 shares — a position now worth roughly $96.76 million. That’s not exactly couch-cushion change.
Why investors might shrug... or lean in
On its own, one institution buying more stock isn’t a fireworks moment. But it does line up with a pretty friendly setup around AMAT: the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, posted $7.01 billion in revenue, and then told investors Q2 2026 EPS should land between 2.44 and 2.84. In other words, the chip-equipment machine is still humming.
The mixed message under the hood
There’s a little tug-of-war here, though. Applied Materials also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53, which is the kind of move income investors like to see. But insiders have sold about 12,003 shares over the past 90 days, so not everyone inside the tent is sounding the all-clear trumpet.
Big picture: one fund adding shares won’t move the earth, but when it shows up alongside strong earnings, better guidance, and a higher dividend, it adds another brick to AMAT’s bullish wall.