William John Sempolinski Purchases Shares of 1,168 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

William John Sempolinski purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,168 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th 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 period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This trade represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $454.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.82 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $533.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. 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.