Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments increased its Applied Materials stake by 3.0% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 66,508 shares valued at about $23.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat: several analysts raised price targets, and Applied Materials now carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target price of $593.84.
• The company continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor demand and recently joined CuspAI’s new AI Materials Foundry, while its latest earnings beat estimates and revenue rose 11.4% year over year.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,508 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,926 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in 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 valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,749 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Argus raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials joined CuspAI’s newly launched AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a move that could help accelerate semiconductor materials discovery and reinforce AMAT’s role in next-generation chip manufacturing. Applied Materials Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary from Zacks highlighted AMAT as one of several semiconductor names benefiting from the growing proliferation of AI, which continues to support demand for advanced chips and equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Positive Sentiment: Another Zacks piece pointed to bullish Wall Street views on Applied Materials, suggesting analysts still see solid longer-term fundamentals for the stock. Should You Invest in Applied Materials Based on Bullish Wall Street Views?
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to be viewed favorably by brokerages overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, which helps support sentiment but is not a fresh catalyst. Applied Materials Given Consensus Rating of Moderate Buy by Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: InvestorPlace flagged a bearish seasonal signal for AMAT heading into late July, which may be pressuring sentiment in the near term. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT also appears to be moving with the broader semiconductor downturn, as the SOX index has fallen into a bear market and investors worry the AI-driven rally may be losing momentum. Semiconductor stocks enter bear market: Is bubble burst next?

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $525.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $534.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $415.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The company'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. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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