Amundi Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Amundi grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,871,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,926 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.98% of Applied Materials worth $1,491,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 31.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 35,012 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% during the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3%

Applied Materials stock opened at $269.44 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $272.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $214.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% 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 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Summit Insights cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.74.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.