Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 30.1% during 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. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% during 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 and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wolfe Research raised their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop around the stock. Susquehanna Raises Price Target on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted Applied Materials’ advanced packaging opportunity, noting management’s goal of more than 50% packaging revenue growth in 2026 as AI demand drives HBM, 3D chiplet stacking, and next-generation packaging demand. Can AMAT’s Advanced Packaging Drive Its Next Growth Phase?
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ to speed development of AI smart glasses, reinforcing the company’s exposure to emerging AI hardware markets. Applied Materials (AMAT) Unveils SENZ To Speed AI Smart Glasses Development
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was also named among Zacks’ top momentum stocks, suggesting technical strength and continued investor interest. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 7th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed AMAT as a high-quality but volatile stock, with recent selling tied to a broader semiconductor and memory-stock downturn rather than company-specific weakness. Every Memory Stock Is Now in a Bear Market: Is Micron, SanDisk, or Applied Materials the Best Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT was caught in an industry-wide chip selloff after weaker sentiment across memory names and a broader tech pullback, which pressured the stock earlier in the week. What Is Going on With Applied Materials Stock on Tuesday?

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $570.50 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $398.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

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.