Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Decreased by Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Guyasuta Investment Advisors trimmed its Applied Materials stake by 1.5% in the first quarter, but still held 113,665 shares worth about $38.8 million at the end of the period.
• Applied Materials has drawn mixed market signals: several analysts have raised price targets or kept bullish ratings, while Zacks downgraded the stock to Hold and concerns remain about its elevated valuation after a strong run.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations with $2.86 EPS on $7.91 billion in revenue and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share; however, insiders have been active sellers in recent months.

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,665 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,737 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.2% of Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $38,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $501.26.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $465.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $641.18. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $459.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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