Assetmark Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 370,481 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,032 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $126,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AMAT opened at $560.93 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $531.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $412.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 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 net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

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.