Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson reduced its Applied Materials stake by 14% in the third quarter, selling 6,860 shares and retaining 42,012 shares valued at approximately $21.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $3.50 and revenue of $9.12 billion, up 24.8% year over year. AI infrastructure investment and a potentially prolonged memory shortage are supporting demand for the company’s semiconductor-manufacturing equipment.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $632.70 target price, although some insiders recently sold shares. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% yield.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,012 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,860 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,589,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,631,000 after acquiring an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $334,521,000 after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory shortage outlook supports equipment demand. SK Hynix’s expectation that the memory shortage could persist into 2030 suggests chipmakers may continue expanding and upgrading fabrication capacity. That outlook lifted Applied Materials and peers because the company supplies equipment used to build advanced memory and logic fabs. The rally may be tempered by industry supply bottlenecks and Applied Materials’ China exposure. Chip Equipment Stocks Rally as SK Hynix Signals Memory Shortage Into 2030
• Positive Sentiment: AI investment is broadening across the semiconductor ecosystem. Capital spending on AI infrastructure is increasing demand for chips, factories, manufacturing tools and process-control technologies. Applied Materials is viewed as a direct beneficiary of that spending, while industry research also points to opportunities in epitaxial wafers, automation and AI-based yield improvement. Top 3 AI Chip Stocks With P E Under 43
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and earnings expectations remain supportive. Recent coverage describes Wall Street analysts as optimistic, while analysts expect a robust double-digit earnings increase in the coming quarterly report as AI-driven chip demand continues. Applied Materials’ latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus revenue and earnings estimates, reinforcing the bullish narrative. Is Applied Materials a Buy as Wall Street Analysts Look Optimistic?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor interest remains high, but the stock is volatile. Applied Materials was highlighted as a potential long-term market-beater, an undervalued AI leader and one of several stocks added to ETFs. Separate coverage noted that the company joined other issuers opposing tokenized versions of their shares under an SEC innovation framework. These developments increase visibility but do not immediately change operating results. Applied Materials: Top Quality And Undervalued AI Leader

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $590.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Argus set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $421.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $459.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $443.21. The stock has a market cap of $334.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company's offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.