USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,884 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,203 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Bank of America all turned more bullish on AMAT, with multiple price-target hikes and fresh upside calls ahead of earnings, reinforcing the view that demand for chip-making equipment remains strong. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: The stock has been one of the biggest winners in the semiconductor space, with June marking its best monthly rally since 1975 as AI infrastructure spending lifted estimates and investor sentiment. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials, signaling confidence that earnings growth can continue beyond the current year. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles note the stock is technically very extended and “overbought,” which suggests momentum is strong but also raises the risk of a near-term pullback after the huge run-up. Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was also added to the Russell Top 50 Index, which can boost visibility and passive fund ownership, though the impact is more about flows than fundamentals. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $723.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $574.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.89, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $486.16 and its 200 day moving average is $384.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company 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%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.56.

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.