Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Cut by Harbor Island Capital LLC

Harbor Island Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,498 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 25,564 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 17.8% of Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $66,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 281,692 shares of company stock valued at $171,378,059. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $695 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade reflects continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment business. Tickerreport.com article
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group lifted its FY2027 earnings-per-share forecast to $18.56 from $17.13. Although the firm retained a Hold rating, the higher estimate suggests improving expectations for long-term demand and profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to describe Applied Materials’ longer-term prospects favorably, with the company viewed as a beneficiary of semiconductor and artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment. Comparisons with Corning also highlight AMAT’s exposure to the chip-manufacturing equipment side of the AI supply chain. Corning versus Applied Materials article
• Negative Sentiment: Higher oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 4.79%. Rising yields increase corporate financing costs and reduce the present value of future earnings, creating pressure on higher-valuation technology and semiconductor stocks. Semiconductor stocks trade down article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reassessed expensive growth stocks in response to the jump in long-term interest rates. Applied Materials’ elevated valuation and relatively high market sensitivity make it vulnerable to this risk-off rotation. Semiconductor stocks slide article

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of AMAT opened at $441.85 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $544.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.28. The company has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.60. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

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.