Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by NFSG Corp

NFSG Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 271.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the quarter. NFSG Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second 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. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $430.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $341.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $483.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $485.62. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $203.40 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

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 the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) 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, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $637.14.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled its approximately $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The center, supported by companies including Intel, Micron, SK hynix, and Samsung, is intended to accelerate chip development and strengthen AMAT’s long-term position in advanced manufacturing. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an Outperform rating and set a $600 price target. Other coverage highlights AMAT’s fifth consecutive earnings beat, improving earnings estimates, and what analysts view as attractive upside after the stock’s recent decline. Applied Materials could nearly double within 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT is being cited as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price semiconductor stock, supported by its broad wafer-fabrication equipment portfolio and expected benefits from expanding chip and AI infrastructure capacity. ASML vs. Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: some firms remain bullish, while others are conflicted on the technology sector and AMAT specifically. A report also noted that 31 ETFs added AMAT shares, indicating continued institutional interest but not necessarily a near-term catalyst. Analysts conflicted on technology names
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT’s decline followed a six-session losing streak and weakness across chip stocks. Investor Day disclosures, including the company’s optical-inspection expansion and long-term targets, have not yet overcome investor concerns about near-term execution, elevated valuation, and semiconductor-sector volatility. Applied Materials drops during Investor Day

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.