Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Cut by Forum Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Forum Financial Management LP cut its Applied Materials stake by 72.5% in the first quarter, selling 7,759 shares and leaving it with 2,936 shares worth about $1.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with several analysts raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $541.06.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share to be paid on September 10.

Forum Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 72.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,936 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,759 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 15,607 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Simmons Bank grew its stake in Applied Materials by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 9,686 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,311,000 after buying an additional 3,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 264,856 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $90,525,000 after buying an additional 7,061 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.06.

Applied Materials Trading Up 10.8%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $694.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $708.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $479.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $381.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $551.52 billion, a PE ratio of 65.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc turned more constructive ahead of Applied Materials’ upcoming Q3 earnings, helping fuel a surge in the stock as traders bet on strong near-term results and continued AI-related demand. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised their price targets, including KeyBanc and Bank of America, with one note lifting its target to a Street-high level and reinforcing a bullish outlook for AMAT. Bank of America Just Gave Applied Materials Stock a New Street-High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to the Russell Top 50 index, which could increase passive-fund ownership and broaden investor attention. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from market strategists noted that much of the good news may already be priced in after AMAT’s strong run, raising the risk that any earnings disappointment could trigger volatility. This Analyst Sees 20% Upside For AMAT Stock – Says High Expectations Around Applied Materials’ Businesses Create Short-Term Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts cautioned that expectations are now very high after the stock’s rapid rally, which could limit upside if Applied Materials does not deliver an especially strong earnings report. Applied Materials: Equipment Market Surge Priced Into Stock Price

About Applied Materials

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.

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