Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by Capital Research Global Investors

Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,046,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $338.94 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $327.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.09. The company has a market cap of $268.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.