Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 57,101 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,852,647 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 57,101 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $974,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 218.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $529.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $533.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $414.11. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

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.