Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 11,865 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 46.1% in Q1, selling 11,865 shares and leaving it with 13,893 shares valued at about $4.75 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on AMAT, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a $518.19 average target.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also unveiling new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging aimed at boosting its position in AI chip manufacturing.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 46.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,865 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $518.19.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.2%

AMAT opened at $626.84 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $473.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $377.36. The company has a market capitalization of $497.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $669.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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?

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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