Isthmus Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Isthmus Partners LLC reduced its Applied Materials stake by 36.7% in the first quarter, selling 26,379 shares and leaving it with 45,575 shares worth about $15.6 million.
• Insider selling was also notable: SVP Timothy M. Deane and CEO Gary E. Dickerson both sold shares recently, and insiders have sold 278,088 shares over the past three months.
• Applied Materials remains financially strong, with quarterly EPS and revenue beating estimates, a dividend announced, and analysts maintaining a generally bullish outlook with a consensus target price of $573.19.

Isthmus Partners LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,575 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 26,379 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.6% of Isthmus Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Isthmus Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $570.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.95 billion, a PE ratio of 53.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $509.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $398.54. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $573.19.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop around the stock. Susquehanna Raises Price Target on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Applied Materials’ advanced packaging opportunity, noting management’s goal of more than 50% packaging revenue growth in 2026 as AI demand drives HBM, 3D chiplet stacking, and next-generation packaging demand. Can AMAT's Advanced Packaging Drive Its Next Growth Phase?
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ to speed development of AI smart glasses, reinforcing the company’s exposure to emerging AI hardware markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Unveils SENZ To Speed AI Smart Glasses Development
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was also named among Zacks’ top momentum stocks, suggesting technical strength and continued investor interest. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 7th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed AMAT as a high-quality but volatile stock, with recent selling tied to a broader semiconductor and memory-stock downturn rather than company-specific weakness. Every Memory Stock Is Now in a Bear Market: Is Micron, SanDisk, or Applied Materials the Best Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT was caught in an industry-wide chip selloff after weaker sentiment across memory names and a broader tech pullback, which pressured the stock earlier in the week. What Is Going on With Applied Materials Stock on Tuesday?

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.

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.