The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 910,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,933 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $657,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 70,976.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $629,149,306,000 after buying an additional 868,968,380 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $658.45.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 232,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,579,059 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%
Shares of AMAT opened at $454.01 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.00 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.98. The firm has a market cap of $360.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.60.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the artificial-intelligence boom remains durable, citing customer orders extending years into the future. Commentary from industry peers reportedly supports the view that demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment remains strong. Applied Materials CEO Says the AI Boom Is Nowhere Near Over
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, payable December 10 to shareholders of record November 19. The dividend provides a modest shareholder-return benefit and signals continued confidence in cash generation. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
- Neutral Sentiment: Published forecasts show a wide range of potential outcomes, with a bullish target near $690 and a bearish case around $340. The spread highlights uncertainty over AI growth expectations, semiconductor cycles and AMAT’s elevated valuation. Applied Materials AMAT Stock Prediction
- Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares short and a zero-day short-interest ratio, but the figures appear inconsistent and provide little reliable insight into current trading pressure.
- Negative Sentiment: Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares for approximately $465,000, reducing her holdings by 3.77%. Although she retains a substantial position, the insider sale may weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing
Applied Materials Company Profile
Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.
Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.
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