QV Investors Inc. Sells 6,540 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

QV Investors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 59.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,490 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,540 shares during the quarter. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $461.67 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $550.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $457.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.