OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires 15,911 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 147.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,696 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,911 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. William Blair began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 277,820 shares of company stock worth $169,538,434 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $492.32 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $562.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $451.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $390.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.44, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand supports the long-term outlook. JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and estimates semiconductor-systems revenue could grow about 40% this year, with AI-related investment accounting for roughly 80% of chip-equipment demand. Applied Materials Sees Years Of AI-Fueled Growth Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Advanced packaging and memory opportunities remain catalysts. New equipment launches are strengthening Applied Materials’ position in advanced packaging as demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and semiconductor manufacturing capacity expands. Can Applied Materials Sustain Its Growth Amid AI-Driven Demand?
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains favorable. Berenberg issued a Buy rating, while broader analyst recommendations continue to point toward adding AMAT to portfolios. However, investors should note that consensus ratings can be overly optimistic because they are based on sell-side opinions. Applied Materials Receives a Buy from Berenberg Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundamentals were stronger than expected, but the market response was weak. Applied Materials reported record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $9.12 billion, up 25% year over year, and exceeded consensus EPS and revenue estimates. Its above-consensus outlook was apparently insufficient to overcome high expectations and valuation concerns. Applied Materials Delivered a Record Quarter. The Stock Fell Anyway
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile bearish positioning is weighing on sentiment. Paul Tudor Jones reportedly liquidated his AMAT common-stock position and increased his put exposure, while Dr. Michael Burry is also betting against the shares. These trades raise concerns about semiconductor-cycle risks and whether future foundry capital spending will meet already elevated expectations. Paul Tudor Jones Liquidated His Applied Materials Stake

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.