SFE Investment Counsel Sells 1,336 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 12th, 2026

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,257 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,336 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 641,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,370,000 after purchasing an additional 163,703 shares during the period. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the first quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 20,258 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,924,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 6,297 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,152,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 36,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,424,000 after buying an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 187.2% in the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

Get Our Latest Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $13.84 on Friday, hitting $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $517.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. 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 one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Applied Materials Profile

(Free Report)

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.