Arvest Bank Trust Division Sells 14,870 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Arvest Bank Trust Division decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,870 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 83,665 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $986,000. Insight Advisors LLC PA purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $253,000. Saturna Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the first quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 78,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,969,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $537.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of 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, 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 objective on the stock. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials 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.