Future Fund LLC Sells 3,519 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Future Fund LLC cut its Applied Materials stake by 72% in the first quarter, selling 3,519 shares and leaving it with 1,370 shares worth about $468,000.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion estimated, while also issuing Q3 guidance of $3.16-$3.56 EPS.
• Despite solid fundamentals, the stock was down 5.6% and recent insider sales plus a broader semiconductor selloff have weighed on sentiment, even as analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with a $593.84 average price target.

Future Fund LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 72.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,370 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,519 shares during the period. Future Fund LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of AMAT opened at $529.66 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $533.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $413.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $593.84.

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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