Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,482 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,110 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.4%

Applied Materials stock traded up $13.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. 6,270,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $517.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $402.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $589.48.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Applied Materials 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.