Legal Advantage Investments Inc. Sells 1,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Legal Advantage Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,081 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 2.1% of Legal Advantage Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Legal Advantage Investments Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $331,000. Brave Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Brave Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Berman McAleer LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $403,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $641.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $459.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.55. The stock has a market cap of $465.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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. The company 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%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.26.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

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.