Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys Shares of 3,034 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement with EssilorLuxottica to co-develop AR and AI-powered smart eyewear optics, opening a new growth angle beyond its core semiconductor equipment business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a development aimed at boosting performance and yield for AI chips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Singapore, signaling continued investment to expand capacity and support demand tied to AI-driven semiconductor equipment growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price targets on AMAT, reinforcing bullish sentiment around wafer fab equipment spending and the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which may limit upside even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT slipped despite the EssilorLuxottica deal, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer near-term financial impact from the partnership. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $600.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $436.36 and a 200 day moving average of $358.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.15 billion, a PE ratio of 53.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $483.03.

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.