Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Key Points

• Generali Investments Management increased its Applied Materials position by 430.7% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 17,105 shares valued at approximately $8.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 30 Buy ratings and nine Hold ratings producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $632.70.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.50 in earnings per share and $9.12 billion in revenue, up 24.8% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annual yield.

Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 430.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.7% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 1,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 58.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 23,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,823,000 after purchasing an additional 8,541 shares in the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 68.4% in the third quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,157 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% in the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 797 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. New Street Research decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $632.70.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $409.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $480.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $203.40 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue 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, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened its $5 billion EPIC Center in Sunnyvale, California, described as the world’s largest semiconductor equipment and process-technology research facility. The investment should strengthen the company’s ability to develop equipment for advanced chips and capitalize on long-term AI and semiconductor capacity growth. Applied Materials opens $5B semiconductor innovation center
• Positive Sentiment: Needham lowered its Applied Materials price target from $740 to $580 but maintained a “buy” rating, indicating that the recent pullback has created what the firm considers meaningful upside. Other recent commentary also highlights AMAT’s broad equipment portfolio and strategic position in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are evaluating whether the current decline could offer an attractive entry point. Historical rebounds after sharp selloffs, continued semiconductor capacity expansion, and expectations for a sales recovery support the longer-term bullish case. Has Buying Applied Materials Stock's Dips Paid Off?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is mixed: some reports identify Applied Materials as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price opportunity, while others present a more cautious view of technology stocks. ETF activity has also been inconsistent, with 31 funds adding AMAT on October 13 but ETFs collectively selling shares on October 14.
• Negative Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are recording unusually long losing streaks as investors question whether AI-related spending can continue at its current pace. Those sector-wide concerns are currently outweighing the potential benefits of the new research center and are contributing to AMAT’s decline. Chip Equipment Stocks Notch Historic Losing Streaks

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company's offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

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