Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC Sells 874 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,885 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.26.

Applied Materials Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $459.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $370.55. 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 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $641.18. The company has a market cap of $465.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.