Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Trimmed by Cullen Capital Management LLC

Cullen Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,110 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,083 shares during the quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $567.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.26, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $427.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $352.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $569.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 presently 19.91%.

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.