Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 264,841 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 70.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,603 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 264,841 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $37,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% in the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $599.19.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has benefited from AI-driven spending on advanced wafer fabrication and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A Columbia Threadneedle investor letter highlighted the company’s exposure to long-term AI infrastructure growth. Applied Materials Rose on AI-Driven Wafer Fabrication Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to see potential for Applied Materials to outperform upcoming earnings expectations, supported by demand from AI, cloud computing, memory and storage customers. The company also recently exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and earnings, with revenue growth accelerating year over year.
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street analysts have issued upgrades, while investors point to strong memory-chip demand as a potential catalyst. However, the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations. Applied Materials Stock Keeps Winning Upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was identified as one of several semiconductor companies with a positive earnings-prediction signal ahead of its quarterly report, but the forecast is not a guarantee of results. 3 Semiconductor Stocks Likely to Outpace Q2 Earnings Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The broader AI-chip group has extended its selloff as investors question whether current AI infrastructure spending can be funded at its current pace. Applied Materials is being pulled lower alongside Nvidia, AMD and other semiconductor stocks. AI Chip Stocks Tumble as Nvidia, AMD Lead Market Selloff Over Spending Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that China is mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment raise concerns that local alternatives could reduce demand for U.S. chip-equipment suppliers. Export controls and geopolitical restrictions could further limit Applied Materials’ access to Chinese customers. How China’s Domestic Immersion DUV Push Has Changed Applied Materials’ Investment Story

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $476.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $378.29 billion, a PE ratio of 44.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $547.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.93.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

About Applied Materials

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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