Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,757 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,040 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective 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. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $480.13.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials received a new Street-high price target from a top Wall Street analyst, reinforcing the view that the stock can still move higher. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Scores a New Street-High Price Target from a Top Wall Street Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its Singapore manufacturing and R&D footprint with a $500 million Tampines Campus to support rising AI-chip demand, which highlights long-term growth opportunities in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor also raised price targets across chip-equipment peers, including Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop for the group. KLA Corp., Lam Research, Applied Materials, ASML in focus as Cantor ups price targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, signaling strong capital returns, though the move is usually more supportive than immediately price-driving. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage noted the stock slipping in pre-market trading despite the expansion news, suggesting investors are weighing the capital spending against the long-term AI demand story. AMAT Stock Falls despite Capacity Expansion as AI Fuels Demand for Chipmaking Gears

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AMAT opened at $497.01 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $534.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $418.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $348.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

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.