California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,852,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 205,983 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $633,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635,284 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $529.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $533.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $413.05. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Argus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

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.