Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management trimmed its Applied Materials stake by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,397 shares and leaving it with 164,210 shares worth about $42.2 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on AMAT after a strong earnings report, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with a $463.89 target.
• Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and raising guidance, while also boosting its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.53 per share.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 164,210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 12,397 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 3.0% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $42,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 147.2% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% 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, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $379.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $448.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

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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