Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 472.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 93,087 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,812 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.8% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.20.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Applied Materials Trading Down 3.1%
Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $14.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $449.83. 3,316,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,839,699. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.20. The company has a market capitalization of $356.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month 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.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.
Trending Headlines about Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “outperform” rating and assigned a $600 price target. The broader analyst consensus implies roughly 39% upside, supported by improving earnings estimates. Analyst price targets
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials highlighted sustained AI-driven wafer-fabrication demand, ambitions to gain more than two percentage points of market share by 2030, eBeam revenue of approximately $2 billion in 2026, and semiconductor-services revenue above $12 billion by 2030. Applied Materials growth outlook
- Positive Sentiment: The $5 billion EPIC research center, partnerships with major chipmakers, and Applied Ventures’ investment in Flexcompute could accelerate chip-development cycles and strengthen Applied’s strategic position in AI semiconductors. EPIC Center announcement
- Neutral Sentiment: The company reportedly delivered its fifth consecutive earnings beat, reinforcing operational execution, but the stock’s premium valuation—around 39 times earnings—leaves less room for disappointing guidance.
- Negative Sentiment: Investors reacted negatively to what was viewed as uncertain 2030 guidance and insufficient detail during Investor Day, overshadowing the company’s long-term growth initiatives. Investor Day guidance reaction
- Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares sold off broadly amid profit-taking and weakness in global technology stocks, adding sector-level pressure to AMAT. Semiconductor equipment sector selloff
Applied Materials Profile
Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.
The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.
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