Midwest Trust Co Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Midwest Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 14,558 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 641,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $219,370,000 after purchasing an additional 163,703 shares during the period. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the first quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 20,258 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,924,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.8% in the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 6,297 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 36,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,424,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 187.2% in the first quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $13.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. The company had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. 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 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $517.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.