Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Has $16.65 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,195 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 3.2% of Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,934,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. LGL Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $226,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 235.3% in the 2nd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,085 shares during the period. Nwam LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.0% during the second quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 6,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,859,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: UBS raised its price target to $695 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade reflects continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment business. Tickerreport.com article
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group lifted its FY2027 earnings-per-share forecast to $18.56 from $17.13. Although the firm retained a Hold rating, the higher estimate suggests improving expectations for long-term demand and profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to describe Applied Materials’ longer-term prospects favorably, with the company viewed as a beneficiary of semiconductor and artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment. Comparisons with Corning also highlight AMAT’s exposure to the chip-manufacturing equipment side of the AI supply chain. Corning versus Applied Materials article
• Negative Sentiment: Higher oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 4.79%. Rising yields increase corporate financing costs and reduce the present value of future earnings, creating pressure on higher-valuation technology and semiconductor stocks. Semiconductor stocks trade down article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reassessed expensive growth stocks in response to the jump in long-term interest rates. Applied Materials’ elevated valuation and relatively high market sensitivity make it vulnerable to this risk-off rotation. Semiconductor stocks slide article

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, 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 transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 281,692 shares of company stock valued at $171,378,059. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $441.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $544.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.45.

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.