Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,979 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,039 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 3.4% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $25,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after acquiring an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains bullish despite Applied Materials’ roughly 20% decline since July. Analysts have continued raising earnings estimates, and some price targets imply substantial upside as semiconductor manufacturers increase spending on advanced chips and AI infrastructure. Applied Materials Cratered 20% Since July
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AI opportunity is backed by operating results rather than only market speculation. The company recently reported quarterly revenue growth of 24.8%, earnings above consensus and strong profitability, helping support the long-term growth narrative. Applied Materials is Going Solid
- Positive Sentiment: Comparisons with Lam Research, ASML and Broadcom highlight Applied Materials’ favorable cash generation, buyback capacity and installed-base advantages. These factors may help protect cash flow during pauses in new equipment orders and support shareholder returns. Applied Materials vs. ASML
- Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was selected as a 2027 Conference Board Innovation Awards honoree. The recognition reinforces its reputation for technological innovation but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Conference Board Announces 2027 Innovation Awards
- Negative Sentiment: Exchange-traded funds recorded approximately $58.8 million of net selling in AMAT on October 15, creating a modest technical headwind independent of the company’s fundamentals. Applied Materials Sees ETF Selling
- Negative Sentiment: After a major AI-driven rally, investors are questioning whether future growth is already reflected in the valuation. Needham also issued a pessimistic forecast, reinforcing concerns about elevated expectations and the cyclical risk of semiconductor-equipment spending. Needham Issues Pessimistic Forecast
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $605.00 target price (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Evercore set a $590.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $632.70.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AMAT
Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9%
Applied Materials stock opened at $413.11 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $327.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $478.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $486.73.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid 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 is currently 18.28%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials
In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
About Applied Materials
Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.
The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.
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