Midwest Trust Co Sells 14,558 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Midwest Trust Co lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 98,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,558 shares during the quarter. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of AMAT traded up $13.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $602.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The stock has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. 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 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $517.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% 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 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Argus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

More Applied Materials News

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 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.