Carmel Capital Partners LLC Sells 2,453 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Carmel Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,453 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $602.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $517.90 and its 200 day moving average is $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Argus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

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.