First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,589,257 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 426,201 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of First Trust Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $884,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $537.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $418.14. The stock has a market cap 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 one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.