Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 94.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 96,976 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,051 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.6% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials' Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Argus raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $536.25 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.35, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $544.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $423.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid 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 currently 19.91%.

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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