Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is Rench Wealth Management Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Rench Wealth Management reduced its Applied Materials position by 15.1% in the second quarter, selling 4,806 shares. Despite the reduction, AMAT remains the firm’s fourth-largest holding at 5.3% of its portfolio, valued at $19.48 million.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in earnings per share versus the $3.40 consensus and revenue of $9.12 billion. Revenue increased 24.8% year over year, and the company issued fourth-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.45. However, insiders sold 231,692 shares worth approximately $146.1 million over the past 90 days.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,806 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 5.3% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Rench Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $468.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $372.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $162.55 and a one year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $519.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.Applied Materials's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.

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