Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,930 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 0.6% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $332,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.0% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 directly owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $740.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $550.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $456.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

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.