Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Western Financial Corp CA

Western Financial Corp CA lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 57.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,091 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,817 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.9% of Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after buying an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see substantial upside. RBC reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and set a $600 price target, while Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an $850 target. The broader analyst consensus implies roughly 39% potential upside, supported by positive earnings-estimate revisions. Wall Street analyst outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure initiatives strengthen the long-term growth story. Applied Materials launched its approximately $5 billion EPIC semiconductor R&D center, with Intel, Micron, SK Hynix, Samsung and other partners expected to collaborate on next-generation chip technologies. The company also invested in Flexcompute’s physics-modeling AI platform to accelerate chip and materials development. Applied Materials EPIC center announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Demand indicators remain favorable. Management expects to gain more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, grow e-beam equipment revenue to $2 billion in 2026 and exceed $12 billion in semiconductor-services revenue by 2030. RBC characterized the company’s 2030 margin targets as conservative relative to potential demand. Applied Materials long-term outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials has delivered five consecutive earnings beats, including recent revenue growth of nearly 25% year over year. However, its valuation near 39 times earnings leaves the stock sensitive to any sign that AI-driven capital spending or future growth could slow.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor Day guidance disappointed some shareholders. Reports indicated that the 2030 outlook was viewed as uncertain or insufficiently ambitious, and an omission from the presentation was interpreted by some investors as a possible sell signal. The reaction overshadowed the company’s strong AI-demand commentary. Why Applied Materials declined
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly sold off amid profit-taking after a strong year, weakness in Asian technology markets and uncertainty ahead of U.S. inflation data. The sector pressure amplified AMAT’s decline and weakened near-term investor sentiment.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $17.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $446.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,472,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,867,301. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $484.96. The company has a market capitalization of $354.45 billion, a PE ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company 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.