Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Position Cut by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC cut its Applied Materials stake by 25.2% in the first quarter, selling 5,985 shares and leaving it with 17,787 shares valued at about $6.08 million.
• Despite some mixed signals, analysts remain mostly bullish: several firms raised price targets, and the consensus rating is still Moderate Buy with a target price of about $553.56.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, but the stock has also seen heavy insider selling and recent warnings that it may be overbought after a sharp rally.

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,985 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained constructive on Applied Materials, with Erste Group raising FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates and Cantor Fitzgerald lifting its price target to $850 while keeping an Overweight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a major beneficiary of AI-driven chip spending, with the stock hitting all-time highs and posting its best monthly rally since 1975, supported by stronger earnings expectations and improved sentiment across semiconductor equipment names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary noted that chip stocks were the main laggard even as most equities moved higher, suggesting sector rotation rather than company-specific fundamentals may have pressured AMAT.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts warned that Applied Materials had become extremely overbought and could be due for a reversal after its steep surge, which may have contributed to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary E. Dickerson disclosed two stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares over June 29-30, a move that can weigh on sentiment even though he still retains a very large stake.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.56.

Applied Materials Trading Down 10.0%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $650.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $386.97.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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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