Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI

Key Points

• LVM Capital Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 6.4% in the second quarter, selling 4,508 shares and retaining 65,908 shares valued at approximately $47.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, while revenue increased 11.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 0.4% yield.
• AMAT shares traded down 3.2% amid a high valuation and insider selling, including more than $169.6 million in sales over the past quarter. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $603.23, citing AI and semiconductor demand as potential growth drivers.

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,508 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 4.0% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 376,513 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $96,760,000 after purchasing an additional 32,136 shares during the period. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 204.8% in the 4th quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 140,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $36,177,000 after purchasing an additional 94,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

AMAT stock opened at $522.12 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $560.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $439.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised longer-term earnings expectations. An analyst increased the FY2027 EPS forecast, suggesting continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment demand and earnings trajectory. FY2027 EPS Forecast for Applied Materials Lifted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center investment remain major growth drivers. Applied Materials supplies equipment used to manufacture advanced chips, and potential semiconductor demand from Tesla and SpaceX’s proposed $16.8 billion “Terafab” project could benefit AMAT and other chip-equipment suppliers. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SpaceX, Tesla, KLA Corp, Onto Innovation, Applied Materials and Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: The investment case includes solid fundamentals and shareholder returns. Coverage highlights AMAT’s AI exposure, broad technology portfolio, strong profitability and dividend history. Its latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and EPS, while management provided third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.16 to $3.56. Applied Materials’ dividends: History, yield and payout ratio explained
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Analysts expect approximately $3.39 in Q3 EPS on roughly $9 billion of revenue, while previews emphasize key operating metrics beyond headline results. The stock’s implied earnings move is potentially sizable, increasing short-term volatility. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: High expectations and valuation leave little room for disappointment. AMAT has rallied significantly over the past year but remains well below its yearly peak. With a reported P/E ratio near 49, investors may be taking profits or reducing exposure ahead of earnings unless the outlook clearly supports current expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor-sector volatility is another headwind. Weakness in major equipment stocks, including ASML, following China-related headlines may be weighing on sentiment toward the entire chip-equipment group, even though the recent AMAT coverage is predominantly bullish.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $603.23.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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