Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,522,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 340,362 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,108,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Evolve Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the period. Finally, CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 204.8% during the fourth quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong now owns 140,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,177,000 after buying an additional 94,587 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $507.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $402.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $564.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 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 39.58%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.