Fifth Third Bancorp Buys 163,703 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 641,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,703 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $219,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $13.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $517.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $402.29. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $589.48.

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.