Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,954 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,231 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of AMAT traded up $13.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Barclays lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

About Applied Materials

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.