Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Buys 35,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 380,494 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 3.3% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $77,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,704.0% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $499,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,369 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 417.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $317,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $339.88 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $344.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $292.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.59. The company has a market capitalization of $269.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: New 2nm/GAA toolset announced — Applied rolled out Viva (radical treatment), Sym3™ Z Magnum (etch) and Spectral™ ALD (molybdenum contacts) systems that target performance and energy gains for 2nm-class AI chips; these tools are already being adopted by leading foundries, which supports AMAT’s near-term revenue and long-term competitive moat. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung joins AMAT’s $5B EPIC Center — Samsung Electronics will join the new Silicon Valley EPIC R&D center, validating demand for collaborative process/tool development and increasing the chance of multi-year equipment engagements. Samsung Joins EPIC Center
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and price-target upside — RBC reaffirmed an Outperform at $385 and multiple houses maintain buy/overweight calls and elevated median targets (~$350+), which can sustain buying interest. Analyst Rating/Reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 expectations bullish — Earnings previews (Zacks, Seeking Alpha) and option-market commentary show expectations for AI-driven strength across WFE, DRAM/NAND and displays, supporting upside to near-term revenue/earnings. Q1 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data noisy — January showed a meaningful decline in shares sold short (~13.7M, down ~14.6%), which is supportive, but Feb reporting entries contain zero/NaN figures that look like reporting errors and should be treated cautiously.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options/volatility positioning — Traders expect a sizable post-earnings move (Investopedia coverage), which can amplify intraday swings but doesn’t indicate direction until results and guidance land. Post-Earnings Options Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and “orders matter” caveat — Coverage notes the rally has stretched valuation and that follow-through depends on orders and bookings; if guidance or orders disappoint, the stock could correct quickly. Valuation/Orders Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales flagged — Public filings show insider sales activity in the past six months, which some investors may view as a minor negative signal amid stretched multiples. (source: Quiver/press summaries)

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, February 2nd. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

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.