Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,619 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position 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 worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending, with coverage emphasizing its role in DRAM and advanced packaging innovations that support next-generation semiconductor growth. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Discusses DRAM and Advanced Packaging Innovations for AI-Driven Semiconductor Growth Prepared Remarks Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment was also supported by a Zacks list naming AMAT among the day’s top momentum stocks, reinforcing bullish technical momentum. Best Momentum Stocks to Buy for July 2nd
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to frame Applied Materials as a behind-the-scenes winner from the AI boom, which could help justify its elevated valuation if chip demand stays strong. Applied Materials Is Silently Powering the AI Boom. Here’s Why.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor stocks sold off as investors took profits after a strong first half, suggesting some of AMAT’s weakness may be sector-driven rather than company-specific. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Shares Are Falling Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report noted AMAT fell more than the overall market in the latest session, but the move was tied to chip-sector weakness rather than a new earnings miss or guidance cut. Applied Materials (AMAT) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market: Key Insights
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two sizable stock sales, including 20,000 shares sold at $735.22, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still retains a very large position. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Sells $14,704,400.00 in Stock

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $603.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 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 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $495.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $389.39.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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 research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.