Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Lowered by Rench Wealth Management Inc.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,806 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 5.3% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.9% in the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $468.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.55 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $519.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.43. The company has a market cap of $372.08 billion, a PE ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.