Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ 8th Largest Position

ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 33.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,392 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,506 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 2.0% of ABN Amro Investment Solutions’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $149,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Applied Materials Stock Up 7.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $537.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.