McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,052 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth 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 stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ, an AI-powered platform designed to speed development of smart glasses, which supports the company’s positioning in next-generation AI hardware and could expand long-term growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $647 and Goldman Sachs also boosting its target, reinforcing optimism around AMAT’s earnings momentum and AI-driven demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted AMAT as a Strong Buy momentum stock, noting its strong rebound from the 52-week low and continued support from broad AI-related equipment demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage noted that AMAT had been one of the strongest stocks in the semiconductor group before today’s pullback, suggesting the move may reflect a short-term cooldown rather than a change in the longer-term trend. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are falling alongside the broader chip sector, with investors rotating out of semiconductor names amid an industry-wide tech selloff and caution tied to memory-chip sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another market recap said AMAT declined more than the broader market, adding to near-term downside pressure even though the company’s fundamentals remain strong. Article Title

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $554.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $506.04 and a 200-day moving average of $396.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 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.