South Dakota Investment Council Sells 12,016 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,033 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,016 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.5% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $27,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $436.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $346.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $547.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company 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 given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the director directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% 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 has benefited from AI-driven increases in wafer-fabrication spending, supporting demand for its semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A recent fund review cited the company as a beneficiary of rising AI-related capital expenditures. Applied Materials Rose on AI-Driven Wafer Fabrication Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention around AMAT has increased, according to Zacks, but the article provides no new company-specific earnings, guidance or fundamental catalyst. The heightened search interest may reflect volatility and investor efforts to assess the stock’s outlook. Investors Heavily Search Applied Materials
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT is being pulled down with the broader semiconductor group as investors question the sustainability and financing of AI infrastructure spending. Rising competition from China is adding to pressure on chip-equipment shares. Semiconductor Stocks Trade Down
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that China is mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment raise a longer-term competitive risk for Applied Materials. Local alternatives could reduce Western suppliers’ access to Chinese fabs, while export controls further complicate the company’s ability to convert AI demand into orders. China’s Domestic Immersion DUV Push
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market selling intensified amid a sharp oil-price increase tied to renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision. Falling major indexes reduced risk appetite for high-beta technology and semiconductor stocks such as AMAT. Oil Spikes as Nasdaq 100 Sinks

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.