D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,085 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Argus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

Applied Materials stock opened at $560.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $445.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $531.23 and a 200 day moving average of $412.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.