Meitav Investment House Ltd. Has $2.02 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Meitav Investment House Ltd. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 973 shares during the quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.5%

Shares of AMAT opened at $554.50 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $440.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $506.04 and a 200 day moving average of $396.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.65.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled SENZ, an AI-powered platform designed to speed development of smart glasses, which supports the company’s positioning in next-generation AI hardware and could expand long-term growth opportunities. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target to $647 and Goldman Sachs also boosting its target, reinforcing optimism around AMAT’s earnings momentum and AI-driven demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted AMAT as a Strong Buy momentum stock, noting its strong rebound from the 52-week low and continued support from broad AI-related equipment demand. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage noted that AMAT had been one of the strongest stocks in the semiconductor group before today’s pullback, suggesting the move may reflect a short-term cooldown rather than a change in the longer-term trend. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are falling alongside the broader chip sector, with investors rotating out of semiconductor names amid an industry-wide tech selloff and caution tied to memory-chip sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Another market recap said AMAT declined more than the broader market, adding to near-term downside pressure even though the company’s fundamentals remain strong. Article Title

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.