Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,715,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 202,180 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $586,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $45,700,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.26.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

Applied Materials Stock Down 8.5%

AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $459.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $465.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $641.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.