KLCM Advisors Inc. Sells 963 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

KLCM Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 44.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,203 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 963 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,082,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $13.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. The stock had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day moving average of $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.