Fulton Bank N.A. Has $14.31 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Fulton Bank N.A. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,976 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after buying an additional 2,635,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised longer-term earnings expectations. An analyst increased the FY2027 EPS forecast, suggesting continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment demand and earnings trajectory. FY2027 EPS Forecast for Applied Materials Lifted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center investment remain major growth drivers. Applied Materials supplies equipment used to manufacture advanced chips, and potential semiconductor demand from Tesla and SpaceX’s proposed $16.8 billion “Terafab” project could benefit AMAT and other chip-equipment suppliers. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SpaceX, Tesla, KLA Corp, Onto Innovation, Applied Materials and Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: The investment case includes solid fundamentals and shareholder returns. Coverage highlights AMAT’s AI exposure, broad technology portfolio, strong profitability and dividend history. Its latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and EPS, while management provided third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.16 to $3.56. Applied Materials’ dividends: History, yield and payout ratio explained
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Analysts expect approximately $3.39 in Q3 EPS on roughly $9 billion of revenue, while previews emphasize key operating metrics beyond headline results. The stock’s implied earnings move is potentially sizable, increasing short-term volatility. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: High expectations and valuation leave little room for disappointment. AMAT has rallied significantly over the past year but remains well below its yearly peak. With a reported P/E ratio near 49, investors may be taking profits or reducing exposure ahead of earnings unless the outlook clearly supports current expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor-sector volatility is another headwind. Weakness in major equipment stocks, including ASML, following China-related headlines may be weighing on sentiment toward the entire chip-equipment group, even though the recent AMAT coverage is predominantly bullish.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $522.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market cap of $414.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $560.75 and a 200-day moving average of $439.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. 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.