Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its Applied Materials stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,406 shares and ending with 185,303 shares valued at about $47.6 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion expected. The company also raised its Q3 guidance and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.
• Sentiment around the stock remains broadly bullish, with multiple analysts raising price targets and firms like Cantor Fitzgerald, KeyCorp, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America issuing or reiterating positive ratings. Applied Materials is also benefiting from strong AI and semiconductor demand commentary, even as a few insiders sold shares recently.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,303 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,406 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its price target to $575, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and pointing to more upside potential. Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights AMAT’s blowout quarterly results, higher outlook, and new AI chip equipment partnerships with companies like Broadcom and SCREEN, all of which support expectations for continued demand in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Assessing Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Earnings Beat And New AI Chip Equipment Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is in its strongest period ever, with AI driving unprecedented computing demand, which adds to the long-term growth narrative for Applied Materials. This is the greatest time ever for semiconductors, says CEO of key equipment supplier
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT continues to attract bullish commentary from analysts and market commentators as a leading AI semiconductor equipment play, helping sustain momentum in the shares. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which kept investors focused on management’s outlook but did not add a major new catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Judy Bruner may create a modest headwind, though the sale was small relative to her remaining stake and does not appear to change the broader bullish thesis. Applied Materials director Judy Bruner stock sale

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AMAT opened at $450.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.33 billion, a PE ratio of 42.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $462.40. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $397.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.

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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