California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Applied Materials stake in the second quarter, adding nearly 869 million shares. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company, though the filing’s reported ownership figures appear inconsistent.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: 27 rate AMAT a Buy and one rates it a Strong Buy, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $658.45.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly expectations with $3.50 EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, while AI-related semiconductor equipment demand supports the outlook. However, elevated valuation and potential memory-cycle oversupply remain key risks.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 70,976.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 870,192,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 868,968,380 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.7% of California State Teachers Retirement System's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 109.65% of Applied Materials worth $629,149,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Innovative Asset Advisors Group LLC now owns 961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% during the second quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.0% during the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $683.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven equipment demand remains the main catalyst. Growth in advanced packaging, DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), along with accelerating global fab investment, is strengthening the outlook for Applied Materials’ equipment orders. AMAT Rides on AI-Led WFE Demand: Can it Sustain the Momentum?
• Positive Sentiment: Raised forecasts have driven a major valuation re-rating. Although trailing-twelve-month revenue growth was only 7.8%, management reportedly increased its forecast twice between February and August as semiconductor demand expectations improved. That forward-growth story helps explain the stock’s roughly 180% one-year return. Why Did Applied Materials Stock Nearly Triple On Single-Digit Trailing Revenue Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations are improving. UBS projected strong potential appreciation for AMAT, while another analyst raised the fiscal 2027 EPS estimate, signaling continued confidence in earnings growth and semiconductor capital spending. UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials FY2027 EPS Estimate for Applied Materials Boosted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains a key debate. Despite a recent pullback, AMAT has gained about 237% over five years, leaving investors questioning how much AI and semiconductor-cycle optimism is already reflected in the shares. Can Applied Materials Still Look Cheap After a 237% Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Industry-cycle risks have not disappeared. Optimism about a permanently stronger semiconductor cycle is tempered by potential memory-capacity imbalances, which could pressure chipmakers’ capital spending if supply expands faster than demand. SEMIs CEO Has Watched Four Decades of Chip Cycles

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $454.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $360.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.82 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $533.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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