Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $4.38 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,055 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $603.23.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic about AMAT, with consensus price targets implying additional upside. Citi reportedly identified Applied Materials as a top semiconductor pick following the sector’s selloff, while other coverage highlights the company’s strong position in deposition, etch, inspection and wafer-processing equipment. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Applied Materials Stock Will Climb or Sink?
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure spending is supporting the outlook for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A potential Tesla-SpaceX “Terafab” buildout, along with rising demand for AI chips, advanced packaging and memory, could create additional opportunities for Applied Materials. Tesla-SpaceX Terafab Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Expectations for the August 13 report are favorable: analysts anticipate earnings growth and a potential beat. Applied Materials’ previous quarter exceeded consensus on both earnings and revenue, with revenue up 11.4% year over year, providing a constructive comparison for the upcoming release. Applied Materials Reports Next Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Options markets are pricing a potentially large earnings move, reportedly around 11%. That highlights significant event risk: a strong report and outlook could extend the rally, but merely meeting high expectations may not be enough. Options Market and AMAT’s Earnings Move
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lowered its rating on AMAT to Hold. The downgrade adds pressure after the stock’s strong rebound and reinforces concerns that substantial AI optimism is already reflected in the valuation. Applied Materials Rating Lowered to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Michael Burry’s disclosed short positions in AI-linked semiconductor names, including Applied Materials, have revived concerns about an AI-stock reversal and heightened volatility. As Burry Targets AI Chip Names

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $539.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.62, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $559.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $437.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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