Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Purchases Shares of 3,034 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Fullerton Fund Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Applied Materials, buying 3,034 shares valued at about $780,000. The filing also noted that institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials recently reported better-than-expected earnings, with quarterly EPS of $2.86 on revenue of $7.91 billion, and raised guidance for Q3 2026 to $3.16-$3.56 EPS. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.
• Investor sentiment remains broadly positive, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock receiving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. At the same time, the article highlighted new product initiatives, including a joint development deal with EssilorLuxottica and new chip-scaling equipment aimed at AI semiconductors.

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement with EssilorLuxottica to co-develop AR and AI-powered smart eyewear optics, opening a new growth angle beyond its core semiconductor equipment business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also unveiled new deposition and selective etch systems designed to improve precision in 3D chip structures, a development aimed at boosting performance and yield for AI chips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials opened a new $500 million manufacturing facility in Singapore, signaling continued investment to expand capacity and support demand tied to AI-driven semiconductor equipment growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price targets on AMAT, reinforcing bullish sentiment around wafer fab equipment spending and the company’s earnings outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary noted that AMAT’s valuation has become stretched after a strong rally, which may limit upside even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One market note said AMAT slipped despite the EssilorLuxottica deal, suggesting investors may be taking profits or waiting for clearer near-term financial impact from the partnership. Article Title

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $568.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.15 billion, a PE ratio of 53.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $436.36 and its 200 day moving average is $358.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $600.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company 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%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $483.03.

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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