Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 611,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 146,353 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $442,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,589,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 183.7% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after acquiring an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. William Blair began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $556.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $455.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’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 transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. 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.