Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Hudson Edge Investment Partners cut its Applied Materials stake by 38.9% in Q1, selling 10,834 shares and ending with 17,044 shares valued at about $5.83 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, and it also issued Q3 2026 guidance of $3.16 to $3.56 per share.
• The stock continues to draw strong Wall Street support, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $553.56, even as some insiders recently sold shares and valuation concerns linger.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 10,834 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $603.04 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $499.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $390.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on Applied Materials, with Zacks upgrading the stock to strong-buy and other recent research highlighting AMAT as a key beneficiary of the AI semiconductor equipment cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Applied Materials is benefiting from accelerating growth in AI-related chip demand, with record earnings momentum and a new Street-high target reinforcing the bull case. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also discussed DRAM and advanced packaging innovations tied to AI-driven semiconductor growth, which supports the view that its product mix remains well positioned for the current cycle. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles question whether AMAT is becoming too expensive after its rally, suggesting valuation concerns could limit upside if growth expectations cool. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Burry reportedly added to short bets against Applied Materials and other chip names, adding a bearish sentiment overlay on the semiconductor sector. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two recent stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still owns a large position. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks, including AMAT, also came under pressure in broader sector selloffs as investors worried that AI-driven chip demand may be cooling and took profits after a strong rally. Article Title

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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