California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 205,983 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its Applied Materials stake by 10% in the first quarter, selling 205,983 shares and leaving it with 1,852,818 shares valued at about $633.3 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $7.91 billion topping forecasts; it also guided Q3 2026 EPS to $3.16-$3.56.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average price target of $593.84.

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,852,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 205,983 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.23% of Applied Materials worth $633,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. One Day In July LLC increased its stake in 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 period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in 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 period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $529.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $533.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $413.05.

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 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Argus boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research 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, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand. Article link
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

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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