Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Takes $48.69 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 142,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,689,000. Applied Materials makes up approximately 0.7% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $560.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $531.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $412.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Argus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

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.