McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Has $824,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,410 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,052 shares during the quarter. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $983,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $45,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was 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 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $554.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $440.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $506.04 and its 200-day moving average is $396.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ, an AI-powered platform designed to speed development of smart glasses, which supports the company’s positioning in next-generation AI hardware and could expand long-term growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $647 and Goldman Sachs also boosting its target, reinforcing optimism around AMAT’s earnings momentum and AI-driven demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted AMAT as a Strong Buy momentum stock, noting its strong rebound from the 52-week low and continued support from broad AI-related equipment demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage noted that AMAT had been one of the strongest stocks in the semiconductor group before today’s pullback, suggesting the move may reflect a short-term cooldown rather than a change in the longer-term trend. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are falling alongside the broader chip sector, with investors rotating out of semiconductor names amid an industry-wide tech selloff and caution tied to memory-chip sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another market recap said AMAT declined more than the broader market, adding to near-term downside pressure even though the company’s fundamentals remain strong. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.65.

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.