Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. Invests $6.80 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 9,405 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,800,000. Applied Materials comprises 3.3% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position 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 valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,252,863,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $550.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.77. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group set a $675.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

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.