United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Purchases Shares of 676,245 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 676,245 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $173,788,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.4% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 81.3% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,727 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 137.4% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 124,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,966,000 after acquiring an additional 456,806 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 37,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,567,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is experiencing its strongest period ever, with AI driving powerful long-term demand for chip equipment. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating and raised its price target to $575, signaling continued confidence in Applied Materials’ growth outlook. Benzinga report on Applied Materials analyst target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ recent partnership and packaging initiatives with Broadcom and SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions are being viewed as incremental wins for its AI chip packaging strategy. Applied Materials partners with Broadcom on advanced chip packaging technologies for AI systems
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings beat expectations and it raised third-quarter guidance, reinforcing the view that demand remains strong. Applied Materials is up after raising Q3 outlook and expanding AI packaging alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Judy Bruner and CAO Adam Sanders both sold small amounts of stock, but the transactions were relatively modest and do not appear to change the broader investment story. Insider trade filing for Judy Bruner

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $449.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $462.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $395.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

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.