Cullen Capital Management LLC Has $11.88 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Cullen Capital Management reduced its Applied Materials stake by 12.9% in the second quarter, leaving it with 16,439 shares valued at approximately $11.88 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion and EPS of $3.50, exceeding analyst expectations. Growth is being supported by AI-related semiconductor infrastructure spending and resilient services and parts demand.
• Despite a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average analyst target of $657.76, China-related export restrictions and competition remain key risks. Company insiders have also sold $169 million of stock over the past three months.

Cullen Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,439 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,429 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $556.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.74 billion, a PE ratio of 41.36, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source