Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its Applied Materials stake by 90.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 204,302 shares and leaving it with 20,605 shares valued at about $5.3 million.
• Several analysts raised price targets and reiterated bullish ratings on AMAT, with the stock maintaining a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $463.89.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.53 per share.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 90.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 204,302 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 123,826 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,831,000 after acquiring an additional 34,952 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 118,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,379,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,217,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $313,558,000 after acquiring an additional 67,233 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 289.6% in the fourth quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 2,579 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $463.89.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $436.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $379.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $319.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Applied Materials 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.