Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s 4th Largest Position

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1,747.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,630 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 2.3% of Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $44,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $480.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $380.96 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $558.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reportedly named Applied Materials a “top pick,” citing the company’s exposure to the continued buildout of AI infrastructure and chip-manufacturing capacity. Applied Materials Stock Is Named a Top Pick at Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see significant upside after the stock’s decline from its high, with AI-driven semiconductor investment and record quarterly revenue supporting bullish price targets. One report cited an average target near $641, implying roughly 32% potential appreciation from recent levels. Wall Street Sees Rally Despite Decline From Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is viewed as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending because its equipment and engineering solutions are essential to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its Applied Materials price target from $650 to $590 but retained an “outperform” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious expectations, while the rating still indicates confidence in the company’s longer-term prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported August short-interest figures show zero shares and a mathematically invalid change, making the data unreliable and unlikely to provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reduced risk ahead of NVIDIA’s results, weighing on Applied Materials alongside other chipmakers. Semiconductor Stocks Slide Ahead of NVIDIA Earnings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $675.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.

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.