Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Sells 3,582 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,582 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.9% of Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after buying an additional 2,635,284 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.19.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $436.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $547.86 and a 200 day moving average of $428.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has benefited from AI-driven increases in wafer-fabrication spending, supporting demand for its semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A recent fund review cited the company as a beneficiary of rising AI-related capital expenditures. Applied Materials Rose on AI-Driven Wafer Fabrication Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention around AMAT has increased, according to Zacks, but the article provides no new company-specific earnings, guidance or fundamental catalyst. The heightened search interest may reflect volatility and investor efforts to assess the stock’s outlook. Investors Heavily Search Applied Materials
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT is being pulled down with the broader semiconductor group as investors question the sustainability and financing of AI infrastructure spending. Rising competition from China is adding to pressure on chip-equipment shares. Semiconductor Stocks Trade Down
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that China is mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment raise a longer-term competitive risk for Applied Materials. Local alternatives could reduce Western suppliers’ access to Chinese fabs, while export controls further complicate the company’s ability to convert AI demand into orders. China’s Domestic Immersion DUV Push
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market selling intensified amid a sharp oil-price increase tied to renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision. Falling major indexes reduced risk appetite for high-beta technology and semiconductor stocks such as AMAT. Oil Spikes as Nasdaq 100 Sinks

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials 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.