Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Takes $8.18 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 17th, 2026

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,944 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,184,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

Applied Materials stock opened at $560.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $531.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $412.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Read Our Latest Report on AMAT

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

(Free Report)

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.