Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,935,654 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 322,036 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $497,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,160,443,000 after buying an additional 1,681,911 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is experiencing its strongest period ever, with AI driving powerful long-term demand for chip equipment. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $575, signaling continued confidence in Applied Materials’ growth outlook. Benzinga report on Applied Materials analyst target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ recent partnership and packaging initiatives with Broadcom and SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions are being viewed as incremental wins for its AI chip packaging strategy. Applied Materials partners with Broadcom on advanced chip packaging technologies for AI systems
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings beat expectations and it raised third-quarter guidance, reinforcing the view that demand remains strong. Applied Materials is up after raising Q3 outlook and expanding AI packaging alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Judy Bruner and CAO Adam Sanders both sold small amounts of stock, but the transactions were relatively modest and do not appear to change the broader investment story. Insider trade filing for Judy Bruner

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $449.68 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $462.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $395.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $332.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $357.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.