New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 3,488 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 134,219 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,488 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $68,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 134.5% in the third quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 129 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC now owns 983 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 838.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 34,593 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,677,000 after buying an additional 30,907 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 156.4% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 6,161 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after buying an additional 3,758 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 209.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 14,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,350,000 after buying an additional 9,715 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanding high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity could drive demand for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced-packaging equipment, creating a potential growth opportunity for Applied Materials. The Next AI Chip Shortage May Be the Machines That Make HBM
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley lowered its price target to $475 from $700 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving substantial implied upside from the cited share price. B. Riley Cut Its Applied Materials Target to $475. It Still Sees 28% Upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are anticipating a potentially large post-earnings move, signaling heightened volatility rather than a clear directional view. Investors will be watching results and the company’s outlook. Why Options Traders Expect a Major Post-Earnings Reaction
• Negative Sentiment: A technical analysis article says AMAT is nearing a “death cross” after a steep retreat from its high, which could signal further downside if the bearish pattern forms. Applied Materials Stock: Death Cross Pattern Nears Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs sold about $200.2 million of Applied Materials shares on Friday, adding a short-term source of selling pressure. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Applied Materials

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Argus set a $600.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine 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 a consensus price target of $625.76.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $372.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $295.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $441.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $445.16.

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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.