Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New $504.24 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 986,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $504,242,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.9% of Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Applied Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,512,287,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $309.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $457.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $443.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $642.00 to $563.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $710.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.