Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 86,486 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,402 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.3% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $62,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 376,513 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $96,760,000 after purchasing an additional 32,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong raised its position in Applied Materials by 204.8% during the 4th quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 140,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,177,000 after purchasing an additional 94,587 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $539.14 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $559.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.71. The firm has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic about AMAT, with consensus price targets implying additional upside. Citi reportedly identified Applied Materials as a top semiconductor pick following the sector’s selloff, while other coverage highlights the company’s strong position in deposition, etch, inspection and wafer-processing equipment. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Applied Materials Stock Will Climb or Sink?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending is supporting the outlook for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A potential Tesla-SpaceX “Terafab” buildout, along with rising demand for AI chips, advanced packaging and memory, could create additional opportunities for Applied Materials. Tesla-SpaceX Terafab Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Expectations for the August 13 report are favorable: analysts anticipate earnings growth and a potential beat. Applied Materials’ previous quarter exceeded consensus on both earnings and revenue, with revenue up 11.4% year over year, providing a constructive comparison for the upcoming release. Applied Materials Reports Next Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets are pricing a potentially large earnings move, reportedly around 11%. That highlights significant event risk: a strong report and outlook could extend the rally, but merely meeting high expectations may not be enough. Options Market and AMAT’s Earnings Move
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lowered its rating on AMAT to Hold. The downgrade adds pressure after the stock’s strong rebound and reinforces concerns that substantial AI optimism is already reflected in the valuation. Applied Materials Rating Lowered to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Michael Burry’s disclosed short positions in AI-linked semiconductor names, including Applied Materials, have revived concerns about an AI-stock reversal and heightened volatility. As Burry Targets AI Chip Names

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Argus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Company 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.