Value Partners Investments Inc. Sells 2,362 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Value Partners Investments Inc. cut its Applied Materials stake by 20.7% in the first quarter, selling 2,362 shares and leaving it with 9,062 shares valued at about $3.09 million.
• Applied Materials is drawing positive analyst and product attention after unveiling new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging aimed at AI chip manufacturing, with several analysts maintaining bullish ratings and raising price targets.
• Insider selling has also been notable, including large share sales by CEO Gary E. Dickerson and SVP Timothy M. Deane, while the company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates and raised its Q3 guidance.

Value Partners Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,362 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.2% during the first quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,627 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the first quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 8,576 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,931,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.8% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,495 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1,040.8% during the first quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 21,881 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,479,000 after acquiring an additional 19,963 shares during the period. Finally, Poehling Capital Management INC. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $393,000. Institutional investors 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: Applied Materials introduced new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, expanding its role in AI chip manufacturing and potentially boosting future demand. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said AMAT’s event highlighted strong opportunities in DRAM and advanced packaging, reinforcing the company’s AI-driven growth narrative. Applied Materials' event focuses on DRAM, and advanced packaging: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with analysts still confident in Applied Materials’ strong competitive position. AMAT stock gets thumbs up from Wall Street – analysts remain confident about Applied Materials’ strong market position
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggests the stock may be looking expensive after its recent rally, which could limit near-term upside even if the long-term AI story stays intact. Applied Materials stock looks pricey—can AI demand justify the rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: One analysis noted that Applied Materials’ aggressive investment strategy may pressure cash flow in the near term, even though it supports longer-term growth. Can AMAT's Investment Strategy Lift Future Cash Flow Growth?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $626.84 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $669.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $473.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $377.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $497.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. 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 currently 19.91%.

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.

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