Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Posted by Geri Gentry on Aug 27th, 2026

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 6.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,234,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 129,337 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 0.9% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,615,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target 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 raised Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Read Our Latest Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $380.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.36, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $556.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $455.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s 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. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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 owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% 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 worth $169,030,834. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Applied Materials Profile

(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.