William John Sempolinski acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,168 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $28,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Activity at Applied Materials
In other news, SVP Timothy Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock worth $146,114,059. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
More Applied Materials News
- Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
- Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
- Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
- Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles
Applied Materials Price Performance
Applied Materials stock opened at $454.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.82 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $533.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.59.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. William Blair assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target 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 assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.45.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AMAT
Applied Materials Company Profile
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.
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