71 West Capital Partners Purchases Shares of 3,903 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• 71 West Capital Partners opened a new position in Applied Materials, buying 3,903 shares worth about $1.0 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 80.56% of the stock. Several large investors, including Vanguard and Capital Research Global Investors, also increased their stakes.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above expectations, while analysts and banks have continued to raise price targets on the stock.

71 West Capital Partners bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,003,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a sign it is targeting growing demand for advanced AI chips and next-generation semiconductor scaling. Applied Materials Unveils Deposition and Selective Etch Systems to Advance 3D Chip Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Applied Materials to $590 from $500 and kept an Overweight rating, reflecting higher expectations for wafer fab equipment spending and capital investment trends. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets Higher Price Targets from Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer and other bullish articles highlighted AMAT as a stock investors may want to own when semiconductor demand strengthens, adding to the day’s favorable sentiment around the name. Jim Cramer Says “I’ll Go for AMAT”
• Neutral Sentiment: Some market commentary warned that the recent rally has pushed Applied Materials to stretched valuation levels, suggesting the stock may be extended after a sharp rebound and could be vulnerable to a pullback if momentum fades. Buy, Hold, or Sell: Applied Materials Surged Right Back Toward $500 Following a Brutal June Flush. Here’s Where I’d Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece argued that AMAT is “not cheap enough to buy” but also “too strong to sell,” reinforcing the view that the stock is richly valued but supported by solid fundamentals. Applied Materials: Not Cheap Enough To Buy, Too Strong To Sell
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT has already rebounded sharply and may be too extended for fresh buying at current levels, which could limit upside if investors become more cautious. Buy, Hold, or Sell: Applied Materials Surged Right Back Toward $500 Following a Brutal June Flush. Here’s Where I’d Buy

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of AMAT opened at $585.78 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $599.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $465.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.00, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $431.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.90.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $483.03.

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.

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