Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 57,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,170 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $529.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $533.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $414.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. 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 company has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.