Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $529.66 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $533.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $414.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm 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 was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. 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 currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

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.