Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 899 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 899 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $307,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth 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. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on Applied Materials, with Zacks upgrading the stock to strong-buy and other recent research highlighting AMAT as a key beneficiary of the AI semiconductor equipment cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Applied Materials is benefiting from accelerating growth in AI-related chip demand, with record earnings momentum and a new Street-high target reinforcing the bull case. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also discussed DRAM and advanced packaging innovations tied to AI-driven semiconductor growth, which supports the view that its product mix remains well positioned for the current cycle. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles question whether AMAT is becoming too expensive after its rally, suggesting valuation concerns could limit upside if growth expectations cool. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Burry reportedly added to short bets against Applied Materials and other chip names, adding a bearish sentiment overlay on the semiconductor sector. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two recent stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still owns a large position. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks, including AMAT, also came under pressure in broader sector selloffs as investors worried that AI-driven chip demand may be cooling and took profits after a strong rally. Article Title

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $603.04 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $499.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $391.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.56.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.