D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 5,085 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 59,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,085 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $560.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $531.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

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.