Candriam S.C.A. Has $28.54 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 83,487 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 51,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,468,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 6,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.9% in the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,058 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GreatBanc Trust CO bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $248,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.4%

Applied Materials stock traded up $13.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $602.50. The stock had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $517.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $402.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.