Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Lowered by Peloton Wealth Strategists

Peloton Wealth Strategists trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,125 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.7% of Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd 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.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement with EssilorLuxottica to co-develop AR and AI-powered smart eyewear optics, opening a new growth angle beyond its core semiconductor equipment business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a development aimed at boosting performance and yield for AI chips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Singapore, signaling continued investment to expand capacity and support demand tied to AI-driven semiconductor equipment growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price targets on AMAT, reinforcing bullish sentiment around wafer fab equipment spending and the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which may limit upside even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT slipped despite the EssilorLuxottica deal, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer near-term financial impact from the partnership. Article Title

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.14. The company has a market cap of $451.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. 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 fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $600.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend 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%.

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.