Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,746 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 695,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $178,798,000 after buying an additional 35,632 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,126 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 266.8% during the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 11,526 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,962,000 after buying an additional 8,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sepio Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.03.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $552.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $557.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.89, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $422.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. 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%.

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.