6,817 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Western Financial Corp CA

Key Points

• Western Financial Corp CA cut its Applied Materials stake by 57.2%, selling 6,817 shares and retaining 5,091 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million. Institutional investors still own 80.56% of AMAT.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: AMAT carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $640.20 average price target, despite its shares falling 3.8% to $446.63.
• Applied Materials recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 24.8% year over year, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 0.5% yield.

Western Financial Corp CA reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 57.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,091 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,817 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.9% of Western Financial Corp CA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Western Financial Corp CA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,512,287,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.8%

Applied Materials stock traded down $17.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $446.63. The company had a trading volume of 8,472,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,867,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $485.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $484.96. The firm has a market cap of $354.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see substantial upside. RBC reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and set a $600 price target, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an $850 target. The broader analyst consensus implies roughly 39% potential upside, supported by positive earnings-estimate revisions. Wall Street analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure initiatives strengthen the long-term growth story. Applied Materials launched its approximately $5 billion EPIC semiconductor R&D center, with Intel, Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung and other partners expected to collaborate on next-generation chip technologies. The company also invested in Flexcompute’s physics-modeling AI platform to accelerate chip and materials development. Applied Materials EPIC center announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain favorable. Management expects to gain more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, grow e-beam equipment revenue to $2 billion in 2026 and exceed $12 billion in semiconductor-services revenue by 2030. RBC characterized the company’s 2030 margin targets as conservative relative to potential demand. Applied Materials long-term outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials has delivered five consecutive earnings beats, including recent revenue growth of nearly 25% year over year. However, its valuation near 39 times earnings leaves the stock sensitive to any sign that AI-driven capital spending or future growth could slow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Day guidance disappointed some shareholders. Reports indicated that the 2030 outlook was viewed as uncertain or insufficiently ambitious, and an omission from the presentation was interpreted by some investors as a possible sell signal. The reaction overshadowed the company’s strong AI-demand commentary. Why Applied Materials declined
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly sold off amid profit-taking after a strong year, weakness in Asian technology markets and uncertainty ahead of U.S. inflation data. The sector pressure amplified AMAT’s decline and weakened near-term investor sentiment.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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