Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Waterway Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Waterway Wealth Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 38.4% in the first quarter, selling 1,653 shares and leaving it with 2,655 shares valued at about $907,000.
• Applied Materials is benefiting from AI-chip and semiconductor equipment optimism, including new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, while analysts have raised price targets and kept a generally bullish stance.
• The stock has surged to near its 52-week high, and the company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, posted 11.4% revenue growth, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Waterway Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,653 shares during the period. Waterway Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, including tools for higher-yield chip stacking and wafer metrology, strengthening its position in AI chip manufacturing. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary has turned more upbeat, with Wells Fargo raising its price target sharply and other coverage pointing to continued strength in semiconductor equipment demand and AI infrastructure spending. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) the Best All-Time High Stock with Legs to Rally Further?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader AI-chip optimism also helped sentiment across the sector, with Micron-led strength reinforcing the idea that memory and chip-equipment names could benefit from the next leg of AI spending. Micron Sparks Fresh AI Stock Rally
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful bearish positioning change, so this does not appear to be a driver of the stock move. Applied Materials stock information

Applied Materials Trading Up 13.4%

Applied Materials stock opened at $668.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $530.37 billion, a PE ratio of 62.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $669.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $468.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $375.60.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.65.

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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