Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock: Maxi Investments CY Ltd Cuts Stake

Maxi Investments CY Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,285 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Maxi Investments CY Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Maxi Investments CY Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $1,512,287,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’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 owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $642.00 to $563.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price target (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded Besi investment strengthens advanced-packaging strategy. Applied Materials agreed to increase its stake in Besi to approximately 20% through an accelerated share purchase. The investment gives AMAT deeper exposure to semiconductor assembly and advanced-packaging equipment, areas expected to benefit from increasingly complex chips and AI infrastructure. Applied Materials to Increase its Strategic Investment in BE Semiconductor Industries
• Positive Sentiment: Margin expansion remains a key bullish theme. Coverage highlighted investor focus on Applied Materials’ ambition to achieve roughly 40% margins. Progress toward that goal could support earnings growth and reinforce the company’s premium valuation. Applied Materials Stocks Gain With 40% Margin Ambition in Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates were raised. Erste Group Bank analysts increased their earnings expectations for AMAT, providing an additional positive signal for the semiconductor-equipment maker’s profit outlook. Erste Group Bank Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage noted that Applied Materials outperformed the broader market during the latest session, but the report offered limited new fundamental information. Applied Materials Surpasses Market Returns
• Negative Sentiment: AI-spending and valuation risks remain. Bearish commentary argued that cooling enthusiasm toward AI and a potential slowdown in semiconductor capital expenditures could pressure equipment demand, although AMAT’s durable long-term growth prospects may limit the downside. Applied Materials’ Meltdown Is a Gift as Durable Capex Meets Cooling AI Sentiments

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $387.59 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $468.42 and its 200-day moving average is $440.96. The stock has a market cap of $307.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials 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.