Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA Has $15.95 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,420 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 3.4% of Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, 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 transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $556.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $455.61. The stock has a market cap of $380.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

More Applied Materials News

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on 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 assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

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.