UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,954 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,231 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $13.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The business has a fifty day moving average of $517.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $402.29. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.