Haverford Trust Co Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 42.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,321 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635,284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9%

AMAT opened at $480.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $380.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $558.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reportedly named Applied Materials a “top pick,” citing the company’s exposure to the continued buildout of AI infrastructure and chip-manufacturing capacity. Applied Materials Stock Is Named a Top Pick at Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see significant upside after the stock’s decline from its high, with AI-driven semiconductor investment and record quarterly revenue supporting bullish price targets. One report cited an average target near $641, implying roughly 32% potential appreciation from recent levels. Wall Street Sees Rally Despite Decline From Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is viewed as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending because its equipment and engineering solutions are essential to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its Applied Materials price target from $650 to $590 but retained an “outperform” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious expectations, while the rating still indicates confidence in the company’s longer-term prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported August short-interest figures show zero shares and a mathematically invalid change, making the data unreliable and unlikely to provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reduced risk ahead of NVIDIA’s results, weighing on Applied Materials alongside other chipmakers. Semiconductor Stocks Slide Ahead of NVIDIA Earnings

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $657.76.

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.