Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock: Strategy Asset Managers LLC Raises Position

Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 122.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,738 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $446.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $485.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $484.96. The stock has a market cap of $354.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating and assigned a $600 price target, implying substantial potential upside. Analysts overall see roughly 39% upside based on consensus targets, supported by favorable earnings-estimate revisions. Applied Materials long-term targets
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled its EPIC semiconductor research and development center, backed by major industry partners including Intel, Micron, SK Hynix and Samsung. The approximately $5 billion initiative is intended to accelerate advanced-chip development and strengthen the company’s position in AI infrastructure. Applied Materials EPIC center
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted potential market-share gains, eBeam equipment revenue of about $2 billion in 2026 and semiconductor-services revenue exceeding $12 billion by 2030. Applied Ventures also invested in Flexcompute to advance AI-powered physics modeling for faster chip research and development. Applied Ventures Flexcompute investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials has continued to beat quarterly earnings expectations, but investors are weighing those results against an elevated valuation and concerns about how much future AI spending is already reflected in the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: The stock came under pressure after the investor-day presentation because the 2030 margin and growth targets were viewed as conservative or insufficiently specific. Reports also pointed to an omission that raised concerns about the company’s future outlook, tempering enthusiasm for the otherwise strong AI-demand narrative. Why Applied Materials sank
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor-equipment shares broadly sold off as investors took profits after a strong run, with weakness in overseas chip markets adding pressure. Broader technology declines and uncertainty ahead of inflation data further reduced risk appetite. Semiconductor equipment stock selloff

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.