LPL Financial LLC Sells 20,419 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

LPL Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 841,396 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 20,419 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $216,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Chad R boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $499.21 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $525.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $415.25 and a 200-day moving average of $346.85. The company has a market cap of $396.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.87, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.67.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, reinforcing its capital-return strategy and signaling confidence in cash generation. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains upbeat on AI-related chip equipment demand, with recent commentary highlighting Applied Materials as a beneficiary of rising logic, DRAM, and advanced packaging spending. Applied Materials jumps 6.8% as AI-driven equipment demand and analyst optimism lift shares
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive, with multiple firms maintaining buy or outperform ratings and several price targets sitting above the current trading range, which can help underpin the stock. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Eyes Growing Southeast Asia Workforce by 25%
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of sharply higher short-interest activity appear data-distorted, but they still reflect ongoing attention from traders betting on semiconductor volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor sentiment is mixed: some commentary says the sector may be entering a correction after a strong run, while other notes call recent pullbacks healthy. Semiconductor Index Outlook: Upside Target Reached, Correction Underway
• Negative Sentiment: There is also some caution from insider-sale headlines and valuation-focused articles after AMAT’s strong multi-month run, which could limit upside if investors rotate out of high-multiple semiconductor names.

About Applied Materials

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.