Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Alexis Investment Partners LLC

Alexis Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.1% of Alexis Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Alexis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Bank of America all turned more bullish on AMAT, with multiple price-target hikes and fresh upside calls ahead of earnings, reinforcing the view that demand for chip-making equipment remains strong. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: The stock has been one of the biggest winners in the semiconductor space, with June marking its best monthly rally since 1975 as AI infrastructure spending lifted estimates and investor sentiment. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials, signaling confidence that earnings growth can continue beyond the current year. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note the stock is technically very extended and “overbought,” which suggests momentum is strong but also raises the risk of a near-term pullback after the huge run-up. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was also added to the Russell Top 50 Index, which can boost visibility and passive fund ownership, though the impact is more about flows than fundamentals. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $723.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $574.03 billion, a PE ratio of 67.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $486.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $384.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) 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 firm 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.