Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 10.5% in the first quarter, selling 202,180 shares and leaving it with 1,715,242 shares valued at about $586.3 million.
• Despite some recent trimming by investors and insiders, Applied Materials remains heavily owned by institutions, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 80.56% of the stock.
• Analysts remain largely bullish: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, with 27 Buy ratings and an average price target of $501.26, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue growth.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,715,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 202,180 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.9% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.22% of Applied Materials worth $586,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.26.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $585.88 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $641.18. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $459.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.55. The company has a market capitalization of $465.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.01, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo upgraded Applied Materials to Buy, adding to a growing list of bullish analyst calls and reinforcing confidence in the company’s growth outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials unveiled two new chipmaking systems for next-generation AI chips, highlighting new product momentum in its core semiconductor equipment business and potential demand tied to AI infrastructure.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary and analyst notes continue to suggest AI-driven semiconductor spending could support Applied Materials’ premium valuation and future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares, a disclosure that may get attention but does not by itself signal a change in the company’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Applied Materials fell alongside other chip names after a report that SK Hynix is slowing HBM expansion, which raised concerns about near-term AI-chip demand across the sector.
• Negative Sentiment: Some market coverage also flagged AMAT’s valuation as stretched after a strong rally, suggesting investors may be more sensitive to any slowdown in growth expectations.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 199,767 shares of company stock worth $114,104,709. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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