New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Has $28.55 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,486 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 0.7% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $550.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given 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 currently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.