Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,912 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,150 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $76,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials introduced new systems for DRAM and advanced packaging, expanding its role in AI chip manufacturing and potentially boosting future demand. Applied Materials Introduces New Systems to Accelerate DRAM and Advanced Packaging for AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said AMAT’s event highlighted strong opportunities in DRAM and advanced packaging, reinforcing the company’s AI-driven growth narrative. Applied Materials’ event focuses on DRAM, and advanced packaging: analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive, with analysts still confident in Applied Materials’ strong competitive position. AMAT stock gets thumbs up from Wall Street – analysts remain confident about Applied Materials’ strong market position
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggests the stock may be looking expensive after its recent rally, which could limit near-term upside even if the long-term AI story stays intact. Applied Materials stock looks pricey—can AI demand justify the rally?
• Neutral Sentiment: One analysis noted that Applied Materials’ aggressive investment strategy may pressure cash flow in the near term, even though it supports longer-term growth. Can AMAT’s Investment Strategy Lift Future Cash Flow Growth?

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $518.19.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $626.84 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average price of $473.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $377.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $669.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $497.69 billion, a PE ratio of 58.86, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

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.