California State Teachers Retirement System Has $418.45 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,224,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 34,725 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Applied Materials worth $418,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $476.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $378.29 billion, a PE ratio of 44.74, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company's fifty day moving average is $547.67 and its 200 day moving average is $426.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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 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 business 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 business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key 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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.19.

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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