Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Sells 9,834 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 57.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,834 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.5% of Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.17.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.1%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $507.18 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $444.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is 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.