Parnassus Investments LLC Has $829.34 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,227,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 534,040 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 2.1% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $829,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 458,395 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $117,803,000 after purchasing an additional 86,799 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 2,756 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 160,660 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Graetz Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $428,000. Finally, Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Argus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 11.2%

AMAT opened at $552.64 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $557.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $422.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $351.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $438.77 billion, a PE ratio of 51.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. 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, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.53 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials Company 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.