Waverly Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Waverly Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,535 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dempze Nancy E raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 12,608 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $426,000. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.4% during the 1st quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Boreal Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $122,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 72,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $24,711,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $536.25 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $425.76 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $544.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.08.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. 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 is currently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

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.