Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Carmel Capital Management reduced its Applied Materials stake by 2.8% in the first quarter, selling 2,550 shares and leaving it with 88,848 shares worth about $30.4 million. Applied Materials remains one of the fund’s largest holdings, representing 8.7% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and 27 analysts rating the stock a Buy versus eight Hold ratings. The consensus price target is $553.56, suggesting analysts still see upside despite the stock’s recent run.
• Applied Materials posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and guided Q3 2026 EPS in the range of 3.16 to 3.56. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable on September 10.

Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,848 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,550 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 8.7% of Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.56.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Bank of America all turned more bullish on AMAT, with multiple price-target hikes and fresh upside calls ahead of earnings, reinforcing the view that demand for chip-making equipment remains strong. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: The stock has been one of the biggest winners in the semiconductor space, with June marking its best monthly rally since 1975 as AI infrastructure spending lifted estimates and investor sentiment. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials, signaling confidence that earnings growth can continue beyond the current year. Applied Materials, Inc. NASDAQ: AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note the stock is technically very extended and “overbought,” which suggests momentum is strong but also raises the risk of a near-term pullback after the huge run-up. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was also added to the Russell Top 50 Index, which can boost visibility and passive fund ownership, though the impact is more about flows than fundamentals. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $723.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $574.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.89, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $486.16 and a 200 day moving average of $384.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 presently 19.91%.

About Applied Materials

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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