26,169 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 26,169 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,944,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.2% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 332,858 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $113,768,000 after acquiring an additional 123,800 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $317,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 114.2% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after purchasing an additional 7,573 shares in the last quarter. Sharp Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $331,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 46.5% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $603.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $390.89. The company has a market cap of $478.79 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on Applied Materials, with Zacks upgrading the stock to strong-buy and other recent research highlighting AMAT as a key beneficiary of the AI semiconductor equipment cycle. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage says Applied Materials is benefiting from accelerating growth in AI-related chip demand, with record earnings momentum and a new Street-high target reinforcing the bull case. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials also discussed DRAM and advanced packaging innovations tied to AI-driven semiconductor growth, which supports the view that its product mix remains well positioned for the current cycle. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some articles question whether AMAT is becoming too expensive after its rally, suggesting valuation concerns could limit upside if growth expectations cool. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Michael Burry reportedly added to short bets against Applied Materials and other chip names, adding a bearish sentiment overlay on the semiconductor sector. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two recent stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still owns a large position. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks, including AMAT, also came under pressure in broader sector selloffs as investors worried that AI-driven chip demand may be cooling and took profits after a strong rally. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.