Balentine LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Balentine LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $415,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, 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. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.56.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 10.0%

Shares of AMAT opened at $650.91 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $516.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.12, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $491.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’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, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained constructive on Applied Materials, with Erste Group raising FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates and Cantor Fitzgerald lifting its price target to $850 while keeping an Overweight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Applied Materials as a major beneficiary of AI-driven chip spending, with the stock hitting all-time highs and posting its best monthly rally since 1975, supported by stronger earnings expectations and improved sentiment across semiconductor equipment names.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market commentary noted that chip stocks were the main laggard even as most equities moved higher, suggesting sector rotation rather than company-specific fundamentals may have pressured AMAT.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical analysts warned that Applied Materials had become extremely overbought and could be due for a reversal after its steep surge, which may have contributed to profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary E. Dickerson disclosed two stock sales totaling more than 78,000 shares over June 29-30, a move that can weigh on sentiment even though he still retains a very large stake.

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.