Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,183,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 130,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Applied Materials worth $561,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $552.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $438.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $422.95 and a 200-day moving average of $351.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $557.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. 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 currently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop and helping reinforce the stock’s upside momentum. Top 5 Strong Buy Stocks to Invest In
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, citing continued investment in new chip supply and AI infrastructure demand. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of high-bandwidth memory and broader AI hardware spending, which supports long-term semiconductor equipment demand. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is One Of the Best High-Bandwidth Memory Stocks To Buy
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $500 million Singapore manufacturing expansion is being viewed as a strategic move to support AI chip demand and expand capacity for future growth. Applied Materials Expands Singapore Manufacturing to Support AI Chip Demand

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

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.