Conning Inc. Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Conning Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,761 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,642 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $602.50 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $517.90 and its two-hundred day simple 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS 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. 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 (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Argus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the 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 owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over 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 insiders.

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.