Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Delaney Dennis R

Key Points

• Delaney Dennis R boosted its Applied Materials stake by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, while institutional ownership remains very high at 80.56% of shares outstanding.
• Applied Materials posted better-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion expected. The company also guided Q3 2026 EPS to $3.16-$3.56.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $483.03. Meanwhile, the company declared a $0.53 quarterly dividend, payable September 10.

Delaney Dennis R raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,808 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,125 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $483.03.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $600.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.15 billion, a PE ratio of 53.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $436.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $358.14.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement with EssilorLuxottica to co-develop AR and AI-powered smart eyewear optics, opening a new growth angle beyond its core semiconductor equipment business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a development aimed at boosting performance and yield for AI chips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Singapore, signaling continued investment to expand capacity and support demand tied to AI-driven semiconductor equipment growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price targets on AMAT, reinforcing bullish sentiment around wafer fab equipment spending and the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which may limit upside even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT slipped despite the EssilorLuxottica deal, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer near-term financial impact from the partnership. Article Title

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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