CFO Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

CFO Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 17.1% during 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 worth $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $595.70 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $525.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $407.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company’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, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials gained attention after reports of a 10-year AI packaging partnership with TSMC, reinforcing its role in the AI supply chain. Applied Materials (AMAT) Lands 10 Year TSMC AI Packaging Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain upbeat on AMAT’s AI demand outlook, with Bernstein rating the stock a Buy and Stifel-style bullish commentary saying the company should benefit from a long AI investment cycle. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets a Buy from Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was included in lists of AI beneficiaries poised to produce strong cash flow and capitalize on heavy semiconductor infrastructure spending. The AI Boom Isn’t Over: 3 Stocks to Buy for 2H 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines also noted Morgan Stanley kept an Equal Weight rating on AMAT, which is supportive but not a strong bullish signal. Morgan Stanley Maintains an “Equal Weight” Rating on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier trading saw AMAT fall with the broader chip sector after weakness in Asian semiconductor names and an oil-price spike pressured tech stocks. Intel, AMD, and Applied Materials Drop 4% as SK Hynix Rout and Oil Spike Hit Chip Stocks

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.