Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,437 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,024 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.5% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $28,000. 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. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.3%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $550.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $456.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other 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 transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

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.