Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $529.66 on Friday. 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 one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $533.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $413.05. The stock has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

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.