Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Reduced by Courier Capital LLC

Key Points

• Courier Capital LLC cut its Applied Materials position by 75.8% in the third quarter, selling 2,650 shares and retaining 848 shares worth approximately $434,000.
• Institutional investors own 80.56% of Applied Materials, with BlackRock, State Street, Amundi and VanEck among major holders that increased their positions.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly earnings and revenue above estimates, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $640.20; the stock recently traded at $464.24.

Courier Capital LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 75.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 848 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,650 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $50,267,184,000 after buying an additional 32,018,892 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,576,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $5,252,863,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials highlighted substantial long-term opportunities at its investor day, including plans to gain more than two percentage points of semiconductor-equipment market share by 2030, grow eBeam equipment revenue to $2 billion in 2026 and increase semiconductor services revenue to more than $12 billion by 2030. Cantor Fitzgerald commentary on Applied Materials
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s new $5 billion EPIC Center in Silicon Valley is intended to accelerate semiconductor process and equipment innovation by bringing chipmakers, equipment partners and universities together, supporting future AI-chip demand. Applied Materials EPIC Center announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an $850 price target, indicating that it sees significant upside from current levels. Bank of America also recently reiterated a Buy rating with a $650 target. Bank of America rating

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Stock Down 6.7%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $464.24 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $484.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $368.42 billion, a PE ratio of 45.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company's offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.

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