Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 25th, 2026

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,482 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,100 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.5% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $97,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of AMAT opened at $484.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $560.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $453.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.25 billion, a PE ratio of 41.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Craig Hallum upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.83.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT

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.