Van ECK Associates Corp Has $5.58 Billion Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 3.5% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,576,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $550.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $456.77. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

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.