Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 109.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Applied Materials Stock Up 7.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $537.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.14. The company has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.