Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 1,083 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,055 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $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% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%

AMAT opened at $539.14 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $559.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $437.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic about AMAT, with consensus price targets implying additional upside. Citi reportedly identified Applied Materials as a top semiconductor pick following the sector’s selloff, while other coverage highlights the company’s strong position in deposition, etch, inspection and wafer-processing equipment. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Applied Materials Stock Will Climb or Sink?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending is supporting the outlook for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A potential Tesla-SpaceX “Terafab” buildout, along with rising demand for AI chips, advanced packaging and memory, could create additional opportunities for Applied Materials. Tesla-SpaceX Terafab Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Expectations for the August 13 report are favorable: analysts anticipate earnings growth and a potential beat. Applied Materials’ previous quarter exceeded consensus on both earnings and revenue, with revenue up 11.4% year over year, providing a constructive comparison for the upcoming release. Applied Materials Reports Next Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets are pricing a potentially large earnings move, reportedly around 11%. That highlights significant event risk: a strong report and outlook could extend the rally, but merely meeting high expectations may not be enough. Options Market and AMAT’s Earnings Move
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lowered its rating on AMAT to Hold. The downgrade adds pressure after the stock’s strong rebound and reinforces concerns that substantial AI optimism is already reflected in the valuation. Applied Materials Rating Lowered to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Michael Burry’s disclosed short positions in AI-linked semiconductor names, including Applied Materials, have revived concerns about an AI-stock reversal and heightened volatility. As Burry Targets AI Chip Names

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $603.23.

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.