Greenland Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Greenland Capital Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 82.2% in the second quarter, selling 4,369 shares and retaining 944 shares valued at approximately $683,000.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $658.45, despite some target-price reductions.
• Applied Materials reported quarterly EPS of $3.50, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 0.5% yield.

Greenland Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 82.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 944 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,369 shares during the quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. William Blair assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Argus set a $600.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $454.71 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $360.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.82 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $533.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 231,692 shares of company stock valued at $146,114,059 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

More Applied Materials News

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 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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