Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 28,982 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $729,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $640.17.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $507.18 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $564.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The company has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.48 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

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.